FLORHAM PARK, N.J.—Jacoby Ford remembers everything about the day the courtship began: The pickup from the airport. The shower of compliments. The steak dinner. And, of course, the invitation to head somewhere more private for a physical exam.

As far as manners go, the New York Jets are gentlemen when it comes to wooing free agents.

In the technology-savvy National Football League, where players now study Xs and Os on iPads rather than in playbooks, the Jets still employ an old-fashioned way of pursuing players during the off-season: They ply them with steak and booze.

The Jets were frisky suitors in the past three months, winning over quarterback Michael Vick, running back Chris Johnson, right tackle Breno Giacomini and two receivers, Eric Decker and Ford.

Coaches lavished the apples of their eyes with praise, and wined and dined at least three of the players in New Jersey's finest restaurants. They would consummate the relationship by inviting them back to the team's swanky training facility to take a physical and sign a contract.