It's the Most ... Wonderful Time ... of the YEAR!!!

This is it, folks! It's Christmas for Redskins fans! Each year, Redskins fans across the country wake up nice and early on the morning of free agency, come bounding down the steps, turn on their TVs/radios and like a child ripping into their gifts, eagerly listen for which bright, shiny new toys their team has signed to play with next football season!

"This is IT, Frank! This is our year! Look who we just signed! He's (they're) gonna make us unstoppable!!!"

Here, you can follow Adam Schefter's blog and keep up with everything that's going on in free agency. You can keep up with the Redskins spending flurries, of which there have been a couple, and everyone else's as well.

This is always an exciting day of the year. But as a hardcore football fan, it's also often depressing. I see a couple teams that set a ridiculous market year after year, and it's really very frustrating. Two deals, both by the Redskins (who else?), are the catalysts this year...

Albert Haynesworth, the $100MM man
Haynesworth is a beast, don't get me wrong. But here's a guy who's never played a full 16 game season, and has a lot of personal questions (stepping on a dude's face) surrounding him. Schefter reports the deal includes $41MM in guaranteed money in the first three years. Now, can anyone explain to me how on earth this could be a good deal for the Skins? Haynesworth to me seems like a guy that's seriously a risk to get paid, and then pull a Ryan Leaf "I never have to work again" disappearing act. Even if he doesn't, if he plays as well the next seven years as he has so far in his career, is he worth $100MM? Remember, that comes with missed injury time, too. Is it even possible he becomes more productive than he's already been? I doubt it.

DeAngelo Hall, the enigma
Schefter's blog reads: "As the clock struck midnight, CB DeAngelo Hall struck it rich." He forgot the word "again." The Skins give Hall $22.5MM in guaranteed money. This is LESS THAN ONE YEAR after Hall got more than $20MM in guaranteed money, and then cut him half-way through the season. Is there a more idiotic deal even possible to be struck this year? Maybe if someone gives Ray Lewis $100MM over 7 years we could say yes. Maybe. Actually, probably not. Who in their right mind gives this guy $22.5 mil up front when he's been nothing more than a solid corner who's shown a penchant for causing significant internal strife?

Oh wait, it's Danny Snyder, there's no such thing as "in their right mind."

As the free agency day is underway, there's one man who's coming out a huge winner without collecting any bonus money. Haloti Ngata, a free agent next season, just became a very rich man.