It’s a tale as old as time — professional athletes seemingly perform better when they’re in the final year of their contract. This is the best time to showcase your ability to nail a massive extension from your current team or have the Brinks trunk backed up on the open market in free agency.
Below are three notable players entering the final year of their current contract.
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Contract-Year Players
Geno Smith (QB – SEA)
From Weeks 1 to 17, Geno Smith posted 254.7 fantasy points, which was good enough for QB14. He didn’t finish as a QB1 despite numerous weapons, including Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He finished with 4,320 passing yards (fourth), 21 touchdown passes (tied for 13th), and 15 interceptions (second).
He had plenty of passing yards, but he couldn’t turn that into touchdowns and had plenty of turnovers. While he had 15 interceptions, he had 18 turnover-worthy plays, so there was potential for even more turnovers.
Smith also only had four multi-touchdown passing games.
This comes with Lockett and Metcalf aging (the latter also in the final year of his contract), and a new offensive coordinator.
Klint Kubiak is the new offensive coordinator. His tenure with the New Orleans Saints started well, but that team quickly went downhill.
It’s hard to rely on Smith in 2025. I’d probably avoid him unless you’re in a Superflex or 2-QB league.
Breece Hall (RB – NYJ)
Breece Hall has had plenty of hype all three years he’s been in the NFL, but like it or not, he hasn’t produced. Yes, he tore his ACL in Week 7 of his rookie year, but in the two full seasons since, he has yet to break 1,000 rushing yards. He has shown value as a pass-catcher but his production dropped in 2024 with 57 catches for 482 yards and three scores — 76/591/4 in 2023.
In PPR leagues, he finished as the RB16.
He’ll have a new quarterback as the team is set to release Aaron Rodgers.
Right now, it’s hard to even guess who the quarterback will be. The Jets are toward the tail end of the top 10 in the 2025 NFL Draft and the top free-agent quarterback is Sam Darnold, who, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume, won’t return to New York.
I expect Hall to be relied upon even more in 2025, which I think will result in performance better than RB16.
Look for Hall to finish as an RB1 in 2025. He’ll be OK in the rushing game and be heavily targeted out of the backfield, especially with players like Allen Lazard and Davante Adams also likely leaving.
Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
This is going to be interesting.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the Chiefs are giving Travis Kelce, a future Hall of Famer, until the middle of March to decide whether he wants to play in 2025 or not.
This would be the final year of his current contract, so playing this year makes sense in that regard. However, after watching him play last year, don’t be shocked if he’s done.
He played terribly in the Super Bowl. The effort simply wasn’t there and he barely tried to chip EDGE rushers.
From a fantasy perspective, he surprisingly finished as the TE5.
Kelce caught 97 passes for 823 yards but had just three touchdowns.
The tight end position in fantasy football is quite volatile. He could continue being heavily targeted, rack up catches and have another top-five season.
My guess is the team will address the pass-catching situation, along with the offensive line.
This would take away some targets, naturally.
If Kelce returns for another season, expect a step back, perhaps something closer to TE7, which is where he landed when you look at his average points per game (12.2).
He’ll still be a TE1, but he’ll certainly not be worth a pick in the first several rounds, which is what his current average draft position (ADP) is.
We’ll have to wait for his decision.
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