When Does Free Agency Start in the NFL?

Find out when free agency starts in the NFL so you can be ready to make some moves for your favorite team.

Introduction

In the National Football League (NFL), the free-agency signing period annually begins on the first Tuesday following the completion of the prior season’s Super Bowl. During this period, which generally lasts until late-March, NFL teams are allowed to sign pending free agents to contract offers.

What is Free Agency?

Free agency in the National Football League (NFL) is when professional football players are able to negotiate and sign a contract with any team in the league, without having any compensation going to their former team. This usually happens after a player’s fourth year of their rookie contract is up. Football fans wait eagerly for free agency to start so they can see which players their team will sign.

Types of Free Agents

There are four types of free agents in the NFL: unrestricted, restricted, franchise, and transition.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: Unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any team. They have completed four or more accrued seasons (six or more seasons if they signed their first pro contract before 4/24/12). Their contracts have expired.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: Restricted free agents can receive offers from other teams, but their original team has the right to match that offer and keep the player. They have completed three accrued seasons (five or more seasons if they signed their first pro contract before 4/24/12). Their contracts have expired. If their original team does not extend them a “Qualifying Offer” (a salary offer at the end of their contract for the following season at the “average of the top five salaries at the player’s position, or 120% of his previous salary, whichever is greater”) by 3/11, they become unrestricted free agents.

FRANCHISE PLAYERS: Franchise players are designated by their teams as such and are not free to sign with another team. They have received a “Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag” from their team, which means they can negotiate with other teams, but if they sign an offer sheet from another team, their original team has the right to match it and keep them. If they do not sign an offer sheet from another team by 4/22, they must play for their original team under the terms of the one-year Franchise Tag tender at a salary that is no less than the average of the top five salaries of players at their position last year, or 120% of their previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. There are two types of franchise tags: exclusive rights and non-exclusive rights.

TRANSITION PLAYERS: Transition players are very similar to franchise players in that they are designated by their team as such and are not free to sign with another team. They have received a “Transition Tag” from their team, which means they can negotiate with other teams, but if they sign an offer sheet from another team, their original team has the right to match it and keep them. If they do not sign an offer sheet from another team by 4/22, they must play for their original team under the terms of the one-year Transition Tag tender at a salary that is no less than “the average of the top 10 salaries at his position last year” or 120% of his previous year’s salary—whichever is greater.

Unrestricted Free Agents

In the NFL, free agency occurs when a player signs a contract with a team as an unrestricted free agent. Once a player signing with a team, he is then bound to that team for the duration of his contract. Unrestricted free agents can sign with any team, regardless of their previous team’s wishes. If an unrestrictive free agent leaves his former team, that team does not receive any compensation.

Restricted Free Agents

If a player has three accrued seasons and an expired contract, he is classified as an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team. If a player has four or more accrued seasons, he is classified as a restricted free agent.

A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but his original team has the right to match the offer and keep him. If the original team does not match the offer, it can receive draft-pick compensation from the player’s new team. The draft-pick compensation depends on the amount of the player’s new contract.

Franchise Players

In the National Football League (NFL), a franchise player is a designation given by a team to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of a season. It compels the player to either sign a new contract with that team, or play the next season under the terms of a one-year contract worth no less than the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of that season. If he elects to sign the one-year tender, he cannot negotiate with any other team during that season.

Free Agency Rules

Free agency in the National Football League (NFL) begins at 4:00 p.m. EST on the first Wednesday in March of each league year. Prior to that date, teams are not allowed to enter into negotiations with, or sign, unsigned players.

Eligibility

In order to become an unrestricted free agent, a player must have completed four or more accrued seasons (a season counts as six or more regular-season games on a club’s active/inactive, reserve/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform list).

An accrued season is defined as a season in which a player was on full pay status for a period of six or more regular season games. A player will be considered to have spent an accrued season on Injured Reserve if he was placed there after sustaining an injury that occurred during the course of a regular or postseason game.

If a player is not under contract to a club at the end of his fourth accrued season, he becomes an unrestricted free agent upon the expiration of his contract.

Free Agency Tenders

Players with expiring contracts become free agents and are free to sign with any team. teams can sign their own free agents without restriction, but they must compete with other teams for the services of free agents from other teams. To help retain their own free agents and to discourage other teams from signing them, clubs may tender qualifying offers to these players. A qualifying offer is a one-year contract proposal at a certain level required to retain negotiating rights to the player. If the player signs the qualifying offer, he is considered signed for the upcoming season at that salary. If the player does not sign the qualifying offer, he remains unsigned and is said to be “in limbo.”

Compensation

In order for a team to sign a player to a contract, they must first have enough room under the salary cap. The amount of salary cap space a team has is determined by the number of players on their roster and the average amount those players are paid.

If a team signs a player who was not on their roster the previous season, they must pay that player an amount equal to their average annual salary plus $100,000. This is known as “compensation.” Compensation can also be paid in the form of draft picks. If a team signs a player who was on another team’s roster the previous season, they do not have to pay compensation.

Free Agency Timeline

Free agency in the National Football League (NFL) officially begins the first week of the new year, which is typically the first week of March. Teams are allowed to begin negotiating with free agents two days prior to the start of free agency.

Pre-Free Agency

Each NFL offseason, there is always a lot of talk about free agency. When does free agency start in the NFL? What is the free agency timeline? Here is a look at the NFL free agency timeline, as well as some of the top free agents this offseason.

The NFL offseason begins in February with the Scouting Combine. This is where draft-eligible players are put through a series of physical and mental tests. The results of the combine can help determine where players will be drafted.

The NFL Draft is held in April and is when teams select rookies to add to their rosters. After the draft, teams begin signing undrafted free agents. These are players who were not selected in the draft but are still eligible to sign with any team.

The first phase of free agency begins after the draft wraps up. This is when teams can begin signing unrestricted free agents, which are players who have completed four or more years in the NFL and are not under contract with any team. Restricted free agents are players who have three years of experience and whose contracts have expired. Teams can sign these players to offer sheets, but their current team has the right to match any offer and keep them on their roster. If they don’t match an offer sheet, they can receive compensation in the form of draft picks from the team that signs the player.

The second phase of free agency begins after June 1st. This is when teams can release veterans without having to take a salary cap hit for their contracts. As a result, there are often more veterans released during this time than at any other point during the offseason.

The third and final phase of free agency takes place after training camp has begun and teams have set their 53-man rosters for the regular season. During this time, teams can sign any remaining free agents but they will count against the salary cap for that season.

Free Agency Negotiations

Teams are allowed to begin negotiations with the agents of impending free agents on March 11th. However, no contract can be finalized and signed until March 13th, when the new league year officially begins.

Post-Free Agency

After the initial flurry of free agency activity, things tend to slow down considerably. Teams have mostly filled their needs and have turned their attention to the NFL Draft. However, there are usually a few notable signings during this period as well.

It’s not uncommon for teams to release veteran players after signing younger, cheaper alternatives during free agency. This often happens with players who are approaching the end of their careers and no longer warrant the same salary as they did in their prime.

Conclusion

In conclusion, free agency starts on March 13th at 4:00pm EST. This is the date and time when teams can start to negotiate with impending free agents from other teams. The official signing period begins on March 16th at 12:00pm EST.