There's an old adage in the NFL that teams cannot win Super Bowls in free agency or the offseason, but, that isn't always entirely true.
Over the past four decades there have been plenty of players who changed zip codes during the springtime rite of passage known as free agency that either went on to hoist the Lombardi Trophy aloft or transform their new teams into immediate contenders for years to come.
While marquee free agent signings don't always work out, some signings significantly outperform their new deals.
Here's a look at the top-10 best free agent signings in NFL history.
10. Curtis Martin, RB, New York Jets
Curtis Martin would go on to become one of the greatest players to ever wear a Jets uniform, and his arrival after a strong start to his career with the New England Patriots proved a watershed moment for the franchise.
Following head coach Bill Parcells from the Patriots, Martin inked a $36 million deal with the Jets before becoming the driving force behind a run to the AFC Championship Game.
Across eight seasons in a Jets uniform, Martin rushed for 10,302 yards with 58 touchdowns while making three Pro Bowls and eventually making the Pro Fotoball Hall of Fame.
9. John Randle, DE, Minnesota Vikings
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One team's trash is another team's future Hall of Famer.
Tampa Bay signed Randle as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M, only to release him that summer when the Vikings scooped him up. Randle would go on to forge a Hall of Fame career, gaining enshrinement in Canton in 2010.
A six-time First-Team All-Pro selection, Randle produced 114 of his 137 career sacks in a Vikings uniform and was one of the most feared players at his position thorughout the course of his career.
8. Jimmy Smith, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jimmy Smith may be the most unlikely superstar in NFL history.
It took a tryout in front of Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin for Jacksonville to even sign Smith, who would go on to catch 862 passes for 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns across his 11-seasons in Duval. Smith was a driving force behind Jacksonville reaching the AFC Championship Game in his first season in a Jaguars uniform, and eventually made five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances.
7. Sam Mills, LB, Carolina Panthers
Sam Mills would go on to become one of the greatest defensive players in Carolina Panthers history and a catalyst for the franchise's immediate success.
Just two seasons after signing a $2.8 million contract, Mills produced 122 total tackles and helped lead the Panthers to an NFC Championship Game appearance. An eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2023, Mills would go on to produce 331 total tackles with 10 sacks and six forced fumbles in a Panthers uniform.
6. Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Tom Brady had already established himself as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, winning six Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots, but, for good measure went on to win another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady went on to outduel Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl to cap his first season with the Buccaneers, taking home the Super Bowl MVP award in the process. That season, Brady passed for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions.
The Buccaneers more than got their money's worth out of Brady, who originally signed a two-year deal worth $50 million to come to Tampa Bay, where he'd go on to lead three postseason appearances with one Super Bowl berth over that span.
5. Deion Sanders, CB, San Francisco 49ers
In some ways, Deion Sanders was a missing piece for the San Francisco 49ers, who couldn't previously get past Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys and into the Super Bowl.
Sanders had one of the most prolific seasons of his career in a 49ers uniform, after arriving in San Francisco on a one-year deal worth $1.2 million in 1994. That season, the 49ers got over the hump and into the Super Bowl, toppling the San Diego Chargers, but only after Sanders shut down Michael Irvin in the NFC Championship game to earn a berth in Super Sunday.
He spent just one season in San Francisco, returning a career-high three interceptions for a touchdown, but it's difficult to imagine the 49ers winning Super Bowl XXIX without Sanders anchoring the secondary.
4. Kurt Warner, QB, Rams
Kurt Warner's NFL career is a Hollywood story brought to life.
Warner famously bagged groceries at one point, and was a standout in the Arena Football League before ultimately getting his opportunity as a backup to Rams quarterback Trent Green. When Green suffered a gruesome knee injury in 1999, Warner's unlikely success story began.
That season, Warner led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans, guiding the Greatest Show on Turf to its first Lombardi Trophy with a 23-16 victory. It's difficult to envision even head coach Dick Vermeil expecting that Warner would lead the Rams to a pair of Super Bowl victories and ultimately two MVP wards, when St. Louis originally signed Warner to a one-year contract worth just $750,000. Talk about outperforming a deal.
3. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
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Sports can galvanize a community, and the emotional uplift Drew Brees' arrival in New Orleans provided in the aftermath of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina transcends even the significant impact he made on the Saints franchise.
Brees signed a six-year contract worth $60 million with the Saints, back in 2006, and immediately transformed New Orleans into a Super Bowl contender. Just one year earlier in 2005, Hurricane Katrina left a trail of destruction in its wake including leaving some neighborhoods uninhabitable to this day, but four years later Brees led the Saints to a Super Bowl championship.
One of the greatest quarterbacks in league history, Brees would go on to win an Offensive Player of The Year Award, Walter Payton Man of The Year Award, and be named a five-time All-Pro during his time in a Saints uniform. In a lot of ways, Brees was the face of the Saints' franchise and a catalyst to the franchise becoming a consistent contender.
2. Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos
It isn't often that a future Hall of Fame quarterback and one of the premier passers of his generation hits the open market, but that's exactly the situation the Denver Broncos benefited from in 2012.
Manning was released by the Indianapolis Colts in 2011, in the aftermath of a significant neck injury, before signing a five-year contract worth $96 million and experiencing a career renaissance in the Mile High City. Not only did Manning lead the Broncos to a pair of Super Bowl berths, including winning the Lombardi in Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers, but he also was voted the MVP in 2013.
An eventual First-Ballot Hall of Famer, Manning passed for 17,112 yards with 140 touchdowns and 53 interceptions in four seasons with the Broncos.
1. Reggie White, DE, Green Bay Packers
Reggie White isn't just one of the greatest to ever play the game, but his litigation against the NFL in 1993 helped shape free agency as it is known today.
White also became a driving force behind the Packers winning two Super Bowls upon his arrival in Green Bay, and helped alter the trajectory of the franchise for decades to come. Four years after White signed a $17 million deal with the Packers, he was instrumental in bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay for the first time in a generation.
The Future Hall of Famer, and arguably the greatest defensive player in the history of the sport. went on to play six seasons in a Packers uniform, producing 68.5 sacks with 301 total tackles, and two Super Bowl victories over that span.
