Spending the most money in free agency doesn't mean that team will have a ton of success in the following season, but sometimes it does. There was quite a bit of money shelled out by front offices this offseason as teams continue to be aggressive in trying to build the best roster possible. A few teams like the Cowboys, Saints, and Chargers didn't even hit the $50 million mark.
But other teams like the Falcons and Titans ended up spending well over $300 million. There really isn't a perfect science for free agency; some teams always spend a lot and might not always have success. However, some teams do spend a lot and do have success. It's not certain how the least-spending free agency teams will do in 2024, but these five teams spent the most of any.
NFL Free Agency: Which 5 teams spent the most money on improving their roster?
1. Jacksonville Jaguars - $309 million
Another year passes where the Jacksonville Jaguars spend a metric ton of money in free agency. They don't have the recent success to justify the amount of money they spend, and it always seems like this is the one team that makes at least one major overpay.
In a crucial year for the team, especially for Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars were aggressive in their free agency period
2. Tennessee Titans - $307 million
Second-year QB Will Levis has to love the amount of resources that GM Ran Carthon invested into the offense. Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, and Tony Pollard highlight some of the new weapons that Levis will get to use. They also used their first-round pick on tackle JC Latham from Alabama. It was a spending spree for Carthon, who entered the offseasin with a ton of cap space.T
3. Carolina Panthers - $259 million
The Carolina Panthers 2023 season was so disastrously bad that I think the new GM felt like they had to spend just to cover up how bad last year went. The Panthers signed a duo of new guards in Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, and also added WR Diontae Johnson via trade. The Panthers roster is actually quite good, and I would say the pressure is now on for Bryce Young to begin to show more consistent flashes.
4. Atlanta Falcons - $245 million
The team that overpaid for Kirk Cousins has spent some of the most money in free agency - shocker. The Cousins deal itself wasn't bad, but the money itself was just too much, if that makes sense. And then in a truly shocking move, they took QB Michael Penix Jr with the eighth overall pick, so the whole QB situation for the Falcons was just not handled well at all.
5. New York Giants - $230.6 million
Brian Burns was their big move of the offseason, as they traded from him with the Carolina Panthers. GM Joe Schoen somehow passed entirely on a QB with the sixth pick and went with WR Malik Nabers. The Giants are in quite the awful spot, as they essentially threw a towel in on the 2024 season as they plan on rolling with Daniel Jones and Drew Lock at QB.
They also spent a ton of money in free agency this offseason but might not win more than five or so games.