Ahh, the salary cap. She’s a stern one. Somewhere between Cruella Deville and the Wicked Witch of the West, by our reckoning.

As free agency step 1 begins, look at all the good players available! The ones pictured below have OV ratings of 80 or higher – and that’s not even all of them.

Some free agents declared their independence and announced to their GMs they planned to test the field and see what great deals they could land for themselves. Others simply couldn’t fit under their teams’ salary cap and were reluctantly ushered out, to wander the free agency landscape on their own.

Twenty-five of the 70 free agents with PO ratings of 80 or higher are going to be difficult to sign because they are Type 2 players. Teams bidding on them will have to cough up compensations to their current teams. But the remaining 45 of those useful, talented players are free to sign with whomever they want. Some will weigh their offers and go with the highest paycheck; others will opt for favorable conditions in a certain city, or with a potential linemate.

Veteran Type 3 players signed in this step will be getting a dose of commitment from their new teams in the form of No Movement Clauses. Any player not signed in this step will be available again in the next step, and they will surely ask for less money as their options dry up.