Inside the Iggles
FanSided

Eagles vs Packers: Two storied franchises, six unforgettable tales

By Geoffrey Knox

Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, NFL Championship Game (Photo by Herb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images)
Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, NFL Championship Game (Photo by Herb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images) /
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Reggie White, Philadelphia Eagles
Reggie White, Green Bay Packers (Photo by Peter Brouillet/Getty Images) /

2. Reggie White leaves the Eagles, joins the Packers, and wins, a Super Bowl.

His name makes all of us smile. Reggie White is, without question, one of the greatest Eagles to ever don the kelly green. His number is retired by both Philadelphia and Green Bay, but who are we kidding? This one still hurts.

If you think Howie Roseman catches unfair portions of hell from time to time, one can only imagine what former Eagles owner Norman Braman might have endured had social media popped up around the mid-eighties or early nineties. Then again, Braman may have deserved the barrage, especially when you think back to 1993, one year after the NFL would change forever as unrestricted free agency began looking more like it looks today.

Unrestricted free agency led to a more competitive balance in the league. Players whose contracts had ended were able to sign with the team of their choosing. Dynasties began to disappear as this was a far cry from the Rozelle Rule or “Plan B” free agency when owners could protect 37 of their players (often the guys that would strike huge deals by leaving).

To make long stories short, at the dawn of this new era in free agency, Braman refused to play the game so to speak, and many of Philly’s best players simply left.

In 1993, Reggie White signed a four-year contract worth $17 million. Can you imagine what he would have made today?

After earning an NFL Defensive Player of the Year nod (1987), six First-Team All-Pro designations (1986-1991), a Second-Team All-Pro nod (1992), and seven trips to the Pro Bowl (1986-1992) as an Eagle, he earned another NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award (1998), two more First-team All-Pro designations (1995,1998), four more Second-Team All-Pro nods (1993,1994,1996,1997) and six more appearances on the Pro Bowl roster.

Allowing Reggie White to leave is, without question, one of the worst mistakes that the Eagles ever made. Again, this one still hurts, so how about we end this one on a high note? What say ye?

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