When Does Free Agency Start in the NFL?

The NFL free agency period is one of the most exciting times of the year for football fans. Here’s everything you need to know about when it starts and how it works.

Introduction

The NFL’s free agency period begins on the first day of the new league year, which is typically in March. Players who are scheduled to become free agents can begin negotiating with teams on that day, and can sign contracts starting at noon on the following day.

What is Free Agency?

Free agency is when NFL players with expiring contracts become free to sign with any team. The free agency period begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on the first day of the new league year.

Unrestricted Free Agents

An unrestricted free agent (UFA) is free to sign with any club, without restriction, when the free-agency period begins. If the player’s contract has expired, or if the player has been released by his club, he is free to sign with any other club. A released player is also free to sign with any other club, but his old club may elect to receive compensation in the form of draft-choice compensation if the released player signs a contract with a new club of a certain value. When Unrestricted Free Agents sign with a new club, their old club does not receive any compensation.

Restricted Free Agents

Restricted free agents are players with three accrued seasons who have received a “qualifying” offer from their team. The qualifying offer is a one-year contract that pays the player 110 percent of his prior year’s salary. The Offer Sheet details the compensation the team has offered the player, and the player’s current team then has seven days to match the Offer Sheet. If the team elects not to match, it may receive draft choice compensation depending on the level of offer made to the player.

Franchise and Transition Players

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team is allowed to designate one franchise player and two transition players each offseason. A franchise player is defined as a player that is among the top five at his position in terms of average yearly salary or the top 10 percent at his position, whichever amount is greater. A transition player is defined as a player that is among the top 10 at his position in terms of average yearly salary.

Designating a player as a franchise or transition player prevents that player from becoming an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires. Instead, the team has the option to keep the player for one year by signing him to a contract worth the greater of 120 percent of his previous year’s salary or the average salary of the top five players at his position.

If a team does not want to keep a franchised or transition player for the next season, it can choose to trade him. If no trade is consummated, then the player becomes an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year.

When Does Free Agency Start?

Free agency in the National Football League (NFL) typically begins in late February or early March. It is a time when teams can sign free agents to contracts. Free agency usually lasts until the start of the NFL season in September.

The Start of the League Year

The NFL’s League Year officially begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on the first day of the league’s calendar year, which is March 9th in 2021. That’s when teams can begin to sign free agents, trade players, and extend contract offers to players with expiring contracts. The window for those moves will be open until August 8th at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The Start of the New League Year

The National Football League’s (NFL) free agency period begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on the first Wednesday after the Super Bowl. At that time, teams are allowed to begin signing free agents to contracts. The signing period lasts until 4:00 p.m. ET on the following Tuesday. During this period, a team is allowed to sign an unlimited number of free agents, but may not sign any free agent to a contract worth more than $4 million in total annual compensation.

Free Agency Deadlines

The NFL free agency period begins on March 13th at 4:00 p.m. EST. This is when teams can begin to sign free agents to contracts. The deadline for players to sign their franchise or transition tags is March 11th at 4:00 p.m. EST.

The Start of the Regular Season

The NFL regular season typically starts the week after Labor Day. In 2020, the regular season is scheduled to begin on Thursday, September 10.

Free agency typically begins at 4 p.m. ET on the first day of the new league year, which is also the start of the new NFL calendar year. In 2020, that date is Wednesday, March 18.

The Trade Deadline

In the National Football League, the trade deadline is the point during the regular season after which trades are no longer allowed. The trade deadline typically falls on the Tuesday following Week 8 of the NFL season. After the trade deadline, teams are not allowed to trade players until the offseason.

Conclusion

As we conclude this article, we hope that you have a better understanding of when free agency starts in the NFL. The answer to this question can be difficult to pin down, as the date varies from year to year and is subject to change. However, we hope that our research has given you a general idea of when free agency begins.