NFL's best free-agent signings of 2024: Sam Darnold, Saquon Barkley lead way

NFL teams have handed out contracts worth nearly $5 billion in free agency since way back in March. Not all of that money was guaranteed, of course. And a lot of it wasn't well-spent.

But some of those contracts turned out to be worth every penny, at least through the 2024 season. Some of the free agents transformed their new teams into contenders. And some of them played so well that their contracts now look like steals.

So here's a look at the 10 best NFL free-agent signings of 2024. Some were big financial investments and some were small. But not surprisingly, every one of them ended up playing on a playoff team:

1. QB Sam Darnold , Minnesota Vikings

(1 year, $10 million, $8.75 million guaranteed)

This was supposed to be a small investment in a veteran backup to be a mentor to and a placeholder for rookie QB J.J. McCarthy.  But when a knee injury ended McCarthy's season in August, Darnold stepped in and became the biggest surprise in the NFL. He played like an MVP, completing 68.1 percent of his passes for 4,153 yards and 35 touchdowns (all career highs) with just 12 interceptions through 16 games. Most importantly, under his direction, the Vikings are 14-2.

Darnold reminded everyone why he was the third overall pick back in 2018, and showed how important the right situation and good coaching can be to a young quarterback. He's still only 27 years old too, which means if the Vikings don't use the franchise tag on him in the offseason, someone is going to give him a $100 million-plus deal.

2. RB Saquon Barkley , Philadelphia Eagles

(3 years, $37.75 million, $26 million guaranteed)

It was always clear that once he got out from behind the New York Giants' awful offensive line that his production would