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The Dealspace: How the NFL trade deadline got hot
The NFL trade deadline was once a nothingburger. From 2000 through 2024, the NFL had a total of 42 deadline day deals, compared to 211 in the NBA, 499 in the NHL and 759 in MLB. The NFL, a league that made itself the main character of the American sports landscape for roughly 12 months a year, was not part of the trade deadline industrial complex.
Things are shifting. This year, the NFL had 16 trades within a week of Tuesday’s deadline, making for a record 22 total in-season trades. Reasonable people could argue about the impact of many of these moves. Joe Flacco notwithstanding, NFL teams aren’t making a habit of trading starting quarterbacks during the season. There is no “C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers” type of transaction going down here. But it’s increasingly common to see legit blockbusters this time of year. Christian McCaffrey’s move to the 49ers in 2022 was a deadline deal, for example. Now, the Jets flipping Sauce Gardner to the Colts for a pair of first-round picks and receiver AD Mitchell is the kind of zeitgeist-dominating swap that wasn’t always part of the NFL machine at this time of year but is now more common.
The move toward more deals isn’t a one-off. As Jacob Robinson, author of our NFL newsletter, found in compiling the data, the league has been moving this way since the mid-2010s:
What gives? The deadline itself, for one thing. In 2012, the league and the players association agreed to move the deadline back from the days following Week 6 to the days following Week 8. The later the deadline, the league’s idea went, the more teams would understand their positions and feel comfortable buying or selling.
The deadline moved back again in 2024, to a few days after Week 9’s games. That’s where it has remained for now. With every team at least eight games in, general managers had enough information to throw themselves into the dealspace with a bit more vigor.
Is this just as simple as that schedule change, or did NFL general managers also realize trading can be exhilarating and fun? I asked Jacob:
💬 It’s mostly the former. An extra week of football gives teams a better idea of their in-season reality; injuries, and contention or rebuilding status are further solidified the later you go in the season. Right now, the deadline falls at a point when 53 percent of regular-season games are completed. MLB and NBA deadlines come after about 65 percent of their regular-season games, and the NHL’s trade deadline arrives at the 78 percent mark. A 2024 proposal to push it back another week — to after 59 percent of games were played — surely brings pro football deal-making even closer to the fantasy kind. I’m all for it.
I think the NFL should keep going and move the deadline back by one week each year, until teams are able to make deals heading into Week 18. That deal flow would feed families, or at least sportswriters. Thanks to Jacob, whom you can read all the time in Scoop City.
News to Know
YouTube TV, ESPN trade blows
We’ve reached the name-calling stage of the YouTube TV-ESPN beef. With the two sides still “far apart” on a potential deal entering the second weekend of their standoff, Disney’s top executives sent a memo to their employees accusing YouTube TV of unfair negotiating tactics. YouTube TV responded with a statement of its own, calling out Disney for “resorting to their old tactics.” These comments do not sound like two sides close to a deal. 😬
Japanese slugger Murakami posts
Munetaka Murakami — a Japanese corner infielder who ranks No. 17 on our staff’s Free Agent Big Board — has officially entered MLB’s posting system, meaning he has 45 days to reach an agreement with a major league franchise. The left-handed slugger owns the Nippon Professional Baseball single-season record for home runs by a Japanese player, although there are concerns about his game translating to MLB. Read our full scouting report on the next Japanese phenom.
More news:
In other sports media news, Mark Sanchez is officially out at Fox Sports after his arrest last month, with Drew Brees taking his place.
Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, who left the team before the start of the World Series due to a “deeply personal matter,” announced yesterday the death of his newborn daughter.
Somehow, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels suffered no ligament damage after dislocating his elbow and is not expected to be placed on IR, which feels like a miracle.
The NCAA banned six former Division I basketball players for their participation last season in gambling schemes that included game manipulation. Read the full story.
Mia Hamant, a goalkeeper for the University of Washington women’s soccer team, died at 21 after battling a rare kidney cancer.
Watch Guide
The full college football schedule for the day is right here. And ICYMI: Here are YouTube TV alternatives if you’re a subscriber in need of Disney-owned networks this weekend.
📺 CFB: No. 7 BYU at No. 8 Texas Tech
12 p.m. ET on ABC
In what might be the first of two meetings between these two, someone will take control of the Big 12 race. Yes, Texas Tech has one of the best rosters in college football now. (Here’s how.) Yes, BYU’s quarterback wears No. 47. (Despite lugging around that heavy number, he’s good.)
📺 CFB: No. 9 Oregon at No. 20 Iowa
3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
I expect Iowa to put up a good fight here. The Hawkeye offense is stunningly respectable now, thanks to a revamped approach to running the rock. Oregon has more talent but will have to contend with a raucous Kinnick Stadium and an elite-as-usual Iowa defense.
Want tickets? Try StubHub.
Pulse Picks
Baker Mayfield for MVP? Jonathan Taylor for Offensive Player of the Year? Mike Jones handed out midseason NFL awards today.
You can now create your own Wordle puzzles — our Dianna Russini and David Ornstein already did! Clues here.
My favorite read this week was on North Texas’ 24-year-old GM who, like many in his line of work, refers to college athletes as “kids.” — Jason Kirk
While store-bought pie crusts are rarely as transcendent as homemade, the best ones can come pretty close. Wirecutter’s kitchen experts taste-tested 15 — and found a few winners that are easy to work with and should hold their own under your favorite fillings. — Gabriella Gershenson
As a Costco lover, my Kirkland-branded sweatshirt is a favorite. So it was cool to learn about the warehouse’s rise. (And boy, I hope it lasts.) — Lauren Merola
The Mammoth have come a long way from the pain the team was in just a few years ago. Read Chris Johnston on how Utah arrived as an NHL playoff contender ahead of schedule.
If you also need to improve your golf game this winter, and your garage can accommodate it, highly recommend a practice net. Cheap Amazon options work fine. — Jacob Robinson
🎙️“The Sports Gossip Show” got into the story on everyone’s mind this week … Tom Brady cloned his dog? Watch and listen here.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Reactions around the NFL to the death of Marshawn Kneeland.Most-read on the website yesterday: The Kneeland news.
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(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)