Nnamdi Asomugha is the top free agent available, no matter who you happen to ask. Well, I guess if you asked one of the other free agents or their moms, or perhaps fans of teams without a cornerback need, they might say somebody else. But when it comes to everybody else in the real world, Asomugha is the guy that any team in the league would be happy to have. It says a lot that the New York Jets are heavily pursuing him, seeing as how they have perhaps the other half of that "one of the best cornerbacks in the league" equation in Darrelle Revis.
The team with arguably the best cornerback in the league is trying to land Nnamdi Asomugha. That's how good he is.
It's an unfortunate circumstance for the 49ers: having the Jets to bid against. Not because they have deep pockets or are willing to offer more money than San Francisco, but because Nnamdi is probably willing to take less money to play for them, considering the state of their team. In New York, he wouldn't have to be on every number one wide receiver and he wouldn't be alone on that defense.
For Revis, he has to bring in a partner for his island resort business, but Revis Island (renamed Revisomugha Island?) would then double in real estate. He's all for the business venture, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who had this quote from Revis:
He's the best CB in the league. Me and him as a tandem would be unbelievable. It would be awesome
All isn't lost for the 49ers, who are still pursuing Nnamdi, and appear to have "some" leverage due to their convenient placement in the Bay Area. When you're talking about a couple million in differences and you don't have to buy a new house, things do start to look a bit better. He'd certainly be a great fit and now with the news that the 49ers are going to be releasing Nate Clements, it lends to the thought that Asomugha might be attainable. After all, they wouldn't release him (and free up $15 million in the process) when Shawntae Spencer is the only option, right?
Right?
SB Nation's own Andrew Sharp did raise a great point in this piece, he notes that the teams that don't get Asomugha could be in for a blessing in disguise. The reasoning is that Asomugha is commanding an awful lot of money right now, and how often do these big ticket free agents pay off? San Francisco only needs to look to Nate Clements for proof of this theory.
None of which is to say Asomugha's overrated... It's just that, playing the free agent market comes down to weighing costs, benefits, and risk. And considering he's already 30 years old, and probably due to drop off over the next few years, even Asomugha's benefits come with a risk. It's the paradox with football players.