In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is allowed to solicit offers from other teams. In some circumstances, the free agent's options are limited by league rules.
Jesse James Palmer is a Canadian television personality, sports commentator, actor, and former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons in the early 2000s. Palmer played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL before spending half of the 2006 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Palmer was cast in 2004 as the bachelor on the fifth season of the reality television series The Bachelor. He went on to become a college football analyst for ESPN/ABC in the United States, and has been a columnist for the website of The Sports Network in Canada. He is also a contributor to ABC's Good Morning America. In 2018, he hosted the kickoff season of The Proposal on ABC. Since 2017 he has hosted The Holiday Baking Championship on The Food Network. Jesse was host of DailyMailTV from 2017 to 2020. Palmer married model Emely Fardo on June 5, 2020, at a close friend's house in Connecticut. In 2021, Palmer was named as the permanent host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette since 2022.
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative to its record in the previous year, which means that the last place team is positioned first and the Super Bowl champion is last. From this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player or players, or any combination thereof. The round is complete when each team has either selected a player or traded its position in the draft. The first draft was held in 1936, and has been held every year since.
David Duke Carr is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Carr also played professionally for the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He received a Super Bowl ring as a backup for the Giants after their victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr., nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former football and baseball player, and currently the head football coach at Jackson State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), where he played with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made one World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
Michael Jerome Oher is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Mississippi, where he earned unanimous All-American honors, and was selected by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers.
Von B'Vsean Miller Jr. is an American football outside linebacker and defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and was awarded the Butkus Award as the most outstanding college linebacker in the nation. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Tyrann Devine Mathieu is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football for Louisiana State University (LSU). In college he developed a reputation for causing turnovers, setting a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record with 11 career forced fumbles and earning the nickname "the Honey Badger" after the mammal of the same name. In his sophomore season, he was recognized as a consensus All-American, won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football program after that season due to a violation of team rules.
Chandler James Jones is an American football defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse, and was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Arizona Cardinals.
Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Louisville and was drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings, Bridgewater threw for 14 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons, including winning the NFC North and making a Pro Bowl appearance in 2015. The following preseason, Bridgewater suffered a severe injury to his left leg, which knocked him out for all but one offensive series of the next two seasons.
Amari Cooper is an American football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Alabama, where he was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver and a unanimous All-American in 2014. Widely considered the top wide receiver prospect of the 2015 NFL Draft, Cooper was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Oakland Raiders.
Myles David Jack is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was named the top freshman player in the Pac-12, receiving honors both on defense as well as on offense for his work as a running back and was named an All-Pac-12 linebacker twice. In 2015, Jack dropped out of UCLA and declared for the draft after suffering a season-ending knee injury. Jack was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Derrick Deshaun Watson is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he led the team to a national championship in 2016. Watson was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.
Kyler Cole Murray is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas A&M, Murray played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior. Murray was selected first overall by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was also selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 2018 draft, making him the first player to be drafted in the first round of both sports.
Laken Tomlinson is a Jamaican-born American football offensive guard for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Duke. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Carson James Wentz is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won five NCAA FCS national championships. He was selected second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft, making him the FCS's highest drafted player.
Mitchell David Trubisky is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted second overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Haason Samir Reddick is an American football outside linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Alex Cappa is an American football guard for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Humboldt State University. He was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
