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Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs features plenty of talent on both squads, and some of that talent may not be on their respective teams any longer after the clock hits zero on the 2024 season.
The AFC and NFC champions combined have 35 players set to become unrestricted free agents, or have voids in their contracts, in March: 20 for Kansas City and 15 for Philadelphia. The Chiefs may need to replace seven starters: right guard Trey Smith, wide receiver Marquise Brown, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, linebacker Nick Bolton, safety Justin Reid and long snapper James Winchester. The Eagles may need to replace five starters: linebacker Zack Baun, guard/tackle Mekhi Becton, edge rusher Josh Sweat, defensive tackle Milton Williams and long snapper Rick Lovato.
With that in mind, here is a ranking of the top 10 free agents from the Super Bowl participants set to become available following the epic conclusion of the 2024 season in Super Bowl LIX.
10. RB Kareem Hunt (Chiefs)
A successful run is analytically defined by gaining at least 40% of the yards required on first down (4 yards on a first-and-10 for example), 60% of the yards required on second down and moving the chains for a first down on either a third- or fourth-down carry.
The metric of rushing success rate is the amount of those successful runs divided by the overall number of rushing attempts a player has. Among 23 players who had at least 200 carries this season, Kareem Hunt's 55.5% rushing success rate on his exactly 200 carries for 728 yards and seven touchdowns is the third-best in the entire league.
| NFL rushing success rate leaders in 2024 (minimum 200 carries) | Success rate |
|---|---|
Bijan Robinson (ATL) | 60.2% |
Derrick Henry (BAL) | 58.8% |
Kareem Hunt (KC) | 55.5% |
Bucky Irving (TB) | 55.1% |
Chuba Hubbard (CAR) | 54.8% |
Rico Dowdle (DAL) | 53.6% |
Jahmyr Gibbs (DET) | 53.6% |
James Cook (BUF) | 53.1% |
Saquon Barkley (PHI) | 52.5% |
Chase Brown (CIN) | 52.4% |
Josh Jacobs (GB) | 52.2% |
Hunt was brought in during the 2024 season to be a stopgap for the injured Isiah Pacheco after he suffered a broken fibula in Week 2 this season, but he became one of the NFL's most-efficient rushers at age 29. Hunt may no longer be the bellcow back he was as a rookie in 2017, but he can be a nice complement for many offenses around the NFL.
9. WR Marquise Brown (Chiefs)
Yes, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown's 2024 season hasn't been storybook: he's caught 12 passes for 126 yards receiving in four games played, including the postseason. That's because he needed shoulder surgery after suffering an injury on a catch during the Chiefs' first play during their preseason opener on Aug. 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 2019 first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens remains one of the NFL's faster wide receivers, and at only 27 years old, he's worth taking a flier on this offseason.
8. DT Tershawn Wharton (Chiefs)
Tershawn Wharton racked up career highs in sacks (6.5) and quarterback pressures (33, per TruMedia) while starting 10 of the Chiefs' 17 regular season games. That's a major leap after Wharton only had three starts combined across his first four seasons. After entering the NFL undrafted out of Missouri S&T in 2020, the 26-year-old will be able to cash in and find a full-time starting gig somewhere in the NFL in 2025.
7. DT Milton Williams (Eagles)
It's hard to stand out on the Eagles' loaded defensive line that has three former first-round picks in defensive tackle Jalen Carter, defensive tackle Jordan Davis and edge rusher Nolan Smith. However, 2021 third-round pick Milton Williams has done just that in 2024, which has the 25-year-old set up for a major payday this offseason. Williams erupted for career highs in sacks (5.0) and quarterback pressures (40, per TruMedia) while ranking fourth in the NFL among interior defensive lineman in pass rush win rate (17.5%), per Pro Football Focus. A contract with an average per year salary of at least $15 million should be in the cards.
6. G/T Mekhi Becton (Eagles)
Eagles offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, the 11th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, needed to take a one-year, $2.75 million prove it deal that could climb up to $5.5 million in incentives after injury and underperformance in four years with New York. Becton, who was once adamant about being a left tackle, converted from that spot to right guard, a position he had never suited up at before. He's played a key role in running back Saquon Barkley rushing for over 2,000 yards and will likely be rewarded with a deal averaging over $10 million per year as he hits the market at age 25.
5. LB Nick Bolton (Chiefs)
Nick Bolton has been the Chiefs' leading tackler in three of his four NFL seasons, including 2024 with 106. If Kansas City opts not to allocate funds for a long-term deal to an off-ball linebacker, even one who is just 24 years old, Bolton could get a contract with an average per year around $12 million based off recent deals for Azeez Al-Shaair ($11.3 APY), Zaire Franklin ($10.4 APY) and Bobby Okereke ($10 million APY).
4. S Justin Reid (Chiefs)
Safety Justin Reid, age 27, had a solid year in 2024, ranking as PFF's 12th-best graded safety in terms overall defensive grade (77.7) and 10th-best safety in terms of coverage grade (77.0). However, Reid could be on his way out with fourth-round rookie safety Jaden Hicks receiving more playtime as the season has continued. The two-time Super Bowl champion could be one of the higher-paid safeties in the NFL after receiving his next contract this offseason.
3. LB Zack Baun (Eagles)
No pending 2025 free agent may have set themselves up for a bigger boost in terms of their next contract than Zack Baun. He signed with Philadelphia on a one-year, $3.5 million contract and switched positions from an edge rusher/outside linebacker type to inside linebacker with the Eagles in 2025.
Baun tied for the sixth-most tackles in the NFL with 151, and his five forced fumbles tied for the second-most in the league. Baun and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, also in 2024, became the only players since at least 2000 to have at least 150 tackles and five or more forced fumbles in an NFL season. He was also PFF's highest-graded linebacker overall (90.2 defensive grade) and highest-graded linebacker in coverage (91.2 coverage grade). That's why he earned the first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro accolades of his career while also being named an NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has never shelled out a lot of money for off-ball linebackers, but it's safe to say Baun will have robust market this offseason at the age of 28.
2. EDGE Josh Sweat (Eagles)
Josh Sweat led a strong Eagles defensive front with eight sacks this season, and that's on a top of a 2022 campaign in which he registered 11.0 sacks when Philadelphia was also the champions of the NFC. He'll likely need more than the three-year, $41.1 million deal the Eagles signed Bryce Huff to in order to keep him around. Otherwise, Sweat will be somewhere else in 2025.
1. G Trey Smith (Chiefs)
Trey Smith is going to get one of the biggest contracts of the offseason as the top offensive lineman on the free agency market in 2025. The Chiefs already made Creed Humphrey the NFL's highest-paid center with a four-year, $72 million contract, and they signed right tackle Jawaan Taylor to a four-year, $80 million contract in the 2023 offseason. Joe Thuney is also on a big five-year, $80 million deal, and he's now been forced into playing left tackle. Smith could reset the offensive guard market in March by signing for more than Eagles counterpart Landon Dickerson did last offseason on a four-year, $84 million deal.
