The thing about all these reports of NFL free agents accepting deals is that nothing can be official until Tuesday.
So, if some team saw a reported deal and decided they'd pay more, there's technically nothing but unspoken collusion holding them back from making a better offer before free agency starts on Tuesday. In fact, this is what Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and the entire SEC would call "business as usual" in recruiting. A commitment to another team just means you have to recruit him a little harder, right?
Is that what happened with Frank Gore? The San Francisco 49ers' all-time leading rusher reportedly had a deal in place with the Philadelphia Eagles and even contract details (three years, $7.5 million guaranteed over the first two years) were leaked. Then all of a sudden, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said that Gore was having second thoughts. Rapoport said Gore reconsidered his deal with the Eagles, and the Indianapolis Colts were mentioned as a potential suitor.
Maybe the deal with Gore and the Eagles gets done in the end, but this is the problem with the NFL's period that allows teams and agents to talk about free agents. Teams think they have deals in place, enough so that either they or the agents leak them to various media members with very specific contract details (of course the NFL says it's not too happy about this). But if nothing is official, so there's nothing to say a player can't change his mind.
It appears that might be happening with Gore. If Gore or his representatives agreed to a deal with the Eagles but then backed out before Tuesday because someone like the Colts offered something better, the Eagles might be upset, but all's fair in love, war and free agency.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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