In any walk of life, unless you're the owner of a company, you're working for somebody. Even CEO's of major companies are working for a board of directors and shareholders. When you are an employee of someone else, though, one of your wishes should be that they provide an environment where you can hone whatever your talent it, and ultimately create a better life for yourself.

TI'm talking about talent development, which should be a goal of any company, but for the 32 teams in the National Football League, talent development is the lifeblood of the successful organizations. The offshoot of developing young talent in professional sports is that said talent will be able to demand significant (some, SUPER significant) raises over their current pay.

Free agency is the market where talent development (supply) meets thirst for new talent on a roster (demand). In this cycle of free agency, you could make the argument that DeMeco Ryans and his staff have proven they can develop talent, and in turn enrich the players they've developed, as well as any organization in the sport.

Let's start with a drafted players in the building the last few seasons, defensive end Jon Greenard. Drafted in 2020, Greenard endured Bill O'Brien, David Culley, and Lovie Smith as head coaches before Ryans arrived in 2023. Greenard had flashed signs of being a productive player, most notable nothing eight sacks in 2021. However, in 2023, under Ryans, he made a huge leap, with 12.5 sacks and solid play against the run all year.

The end result for Greenard? Here you go:

JON GREENARD, DE, Minnesota Vikings
2023 Earnings: $1,145,200 (final year of rookie contract)
New Contract: 4 years, $76,000,000

Yep, life changing money.

Joining Greenard in Minnesota next season will be Minnesota native Blake Cashman. Traded to the Texans for a sixth round pick two years ago, and brought in largely to play special teams, Cashman developed into one of the most underrated linebackers in football in 2023, ranking 11th among all linebackers according to Pro Football Focus.

The end result for Cashman? Here you go:

BLAKE CASHMAN, LB, Minnesota Vikings
2023 Earnings: $1,625,000
New Contract: 3 years, $22,500,000

Yep, MORE life changing money,

How about players who signed with the Texans last spring on a one year deal, hoping to get a chance to prove their worth, either to the Texans or the rest of the NFL. Let's start with Dalton Schultz, since he is the one guy in this group who chose to stay with the Texans. Schultz signed a modest one year deal to play here in 2023, and wound up as one of C.J. Stroud's favorite targets, with 59 catches.

The end result for Schultz? Here you go:

DALTON SCHULTZ, TE, Houston Texans
2023 Earnings: $6,250,000
New Contract: 3 years, $36,000,000

Hey, what do you know! Life changing money! Starting to see a trend here? How about three other guys who signed one year deals with the Texans and chose to take extremely rich offers elsewhere this week? What about RB Devin Singletary, DT Sheldon Rankins, and OT George Want? Well, here you go:

DEVIN SINGLETARY, RB, New York Giants
2023 Earnings: $2,750,000
New Contract: 3 years, $16,500,000

SHELDON RANKINS, DT, Cincinnati Bengals
2023 Earnings: $9,750,000
New Contract: 2 years, $26,000,000

GEORGE FANT, OT, Seattle Seahawks
2023 Earnings: $2,000,000
New Contract: 2 years, $14,000,000

All three were able to leave for greener pastures, in no small part because of the coaching and opportunity they received from the Texans. This is a great selling point over the next week for the Texans in pitches to free agents looking for a one year, prove-it opportunity.  If you want to come ply your trade for a year and set yourself up to make a lot of money in 2025, just look at the Texans' recent track record.

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