Bashaud Breeland aiming for free agent payday

Bashaud Breeland seems poised for the payday that has eluded him on the free agent market.

This year, the commitment to Bashaud Breeland was up to $3 million. That’s up from a cool mill from the offseason before and over $2 million from the year before that. For most persons, that amount of money sounds like a life-changing windfall, but for a cornerback in his prime years who’d dreamed of the big money potentially offered in free agency, it’s been a series of frustrating short-term deals.

For the last three offseasons, ever since Breeland first hit free agency, the veteran corner has been forced to settle for low-level commitments from teams like the Green Bay Packers (2018) and Kansas City Chiefs (2019-20). No one should cry too many tears over an athlete not getting as many millions as he likely envisioned, but it’s notable all the same here.

That’s because Breeland is likely going to get his payday next spring.

This year, Breeland came in with the odds stacked against him more than ever. While the Chiefs gave him a nice raise from last year’s 1-year, $2 million contract (to a 1-year, $3 million deal), it felt like Breeland was likely going to settle for these types of deals for the rest of his career. After all, this will be Breeland’s seventh season in the NFL and he’s nearing the age of 30. He also came into this season forced to miss the first four games due to a suspension levied this past spring.

It turns out 12 games will be enough of an exhibition for some team to give him a multi-year contract for more money than he’s likely ever made to date. Breeland has been lights out in coverage for one of the most watched teams in football, an ideal recipe for a free agent looking to rebound on the open market. Breeland returned to the Chiefs for the chance to run it back and excel in Steve Spagnuolo’s system—one in which he was now familiar. It turns out that things are working well for him.

Given that the Chiefs have missed L’Jarius Sneed to a broken collarbone for the last several weeks of the season, Breeland’s arrival in the second month was most welcome. It took him very little time to settle in on the boundary and provide great coverage and security. Even with the rotating cast, the Chiefs pass defense ranks No. 6 overall in DVOA.

For teams interested in adding a veteran cornerback this coming spring, Breeland could be a key addition. Not only has his coverage ability turned heads this year for a defense that gets the best from each and every opponent, but Breeland is also going to boast great intangibles as a former Super Bowl champ (who might actually earn two consecutive rings).

No one is saying Breeland is going to break the bank or reset the market when free agency hits next offseason. The suspension doesn’t help on his record, and he will turn 29 before he’ll sign any new deal, which likely shortens any commitment to a two- or three-year consideration at best. Still even that will give Breeland a chance to settle in for more than several months at a time and earn more than he’s likely earned to date. After this year, he’ll deserve it.