NFL Free Agency: What You Need to Know

With the NFL Free Agency period set to begin on Wednesday, March 13th, we wanted to provide a quick guide on what you need to know.

Introduction

It’s that time of year again. The time when the NFL offseason really heats up and teams are looking to improve their rosters for the upcoming season. That time is now, as the NFL free agency period officially opened on Wednesday, March 14 at 4 p.m. ET.

With so many big names and marquee talents on the move, it can be tough to keep track of everything that’s going on. That’s why we’re here to help you out. Below is a comprehensive guide to all things NFL free agency, including a look at some of the top names available, where they might land and what it all means for your favorite team.

What is NFL Free Agency?

NFL free agency is a time when teams can talk to and sign players from other teams. Free agency usually starts in March, after the NFL season ends. Teams can sign players to contracts during free agency. Some players become free agents because their contract has expired, while others become free agents because they were released by their team.

Types of Free Agents

In the National Football League (NFL), a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with any club, including his former club, without any compensation or draft choice to that club. An unrestricted free agent (UFA) is free to sign with any NFL club without compensation or restriction, while a restricted free agent (RFA) has received a qualifying offer from his former club and is free to sign with any other team but his former team has the right of first refusal on any offers.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NFL and its players, which runs through the 2020 season, there are four different types of free agents:
-Unrestricted free agents: Players who have completed four or more accrued seasons and whose contracts have expired. They are free to sign with any team, with no draft choice compensation owed to their former team.
-Restricted free agents: Players with three accrued seasons whose contracts have expired. They can receive qualifying offers (at a predetermined level depending on their experience) from their former team, giving that team the right to match any offer they might receive from another team or receive draft pick compensation if they choose not to match.
-Transition players: Players with fewer than four accrued seasons whose contracts have expired. They can receive qualifying offers from their former teams at a predetermined level that gives that team the exclusive right to match any offer he might receive from another team. If the player does not receive a qualifying offer, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
-Exclusive rights free agents: Players with two or fewer accrued seasons whose contracts have expired. If they are tendered a one-year contract by their former team at the minimum salary for players of their experience level, they are not free to sign elsewhere and must play out that contract with their old club.

Restricted Free Agents

In the NFL, a restricted free agent is defined as a player with three or fewer years of service whose contract has expired. If such a player signs an offer sheet with another team, his original team has seven days to match the offer and retain him. If the original team opts not to match the offer, it may receive compensation in the form of draft picks from the signing team, depending on the amount of the offer.

Unrestricted Free Agents

In the NFL, a small group of players is allowed to become free agents each year. These players are known as “Unrestricted Free Agents,” or UFAs.

Each UFA has a certain amount of years of NFL experience (called “accrued seasons”), and their contract has expired. Once their contract expires, they are free to sign with any team in the league, for any amount of money.

Players with four or more accrued seasons are typically the only ones who hit the open market as UFAs. However, there are a few exceptions. Players with fewer than four seasons can become UFAs if they meet one of the following criteria:

– They have been “cut” by their team
– Their team has chosen not to renew their contract (called “declining” or “non-tendering” a player)
– They have been designated as a “transition player” by their team

How does NFL Free Agency Work?

NFL free agency is a system that allows professional football players to negotiate contracts with any team in the league, without restriction from their previous team. This process begins with a negotiation window between the player and their current team, during which the team can choose to retain the player with a new contract, or allow them to become a free agent.

The Free Agency Process

In the National Football League (NFL), free agency refers to the period when any unrestricted free agent (UFA) whose contract has expired may sign with any club of his choice, with no restrictions, through a negotiated contract. The NFL’s free agency system is a complex process that can be difficult to understand, especially for those who are new to the sport. Here’s a look at how it works.

When a player’s contract expires, he becomes a free agent and is free to sign with any team. There is no draft for free agents, so any team can sign any free agent, regardless of where he played his previous season.

Free agents can sign contracts starting at 12:01 AM ET on the first day of the new league year. For example, if a player’s contract expired on March 10, 2020, he would become a free agent on March 11, 2020.

The NFL has a complex set of rules that govern how teams can sign free agents. These rules are designed to promote parity and prevent rich teams from hoarding all the best players.

Under the NFL’s salary cap system, each team has a certain amount of money it can spend on player salaries for the year. This money is divided up among all the players on the team’s roster.

When a team signs a free agent, it must allocate that player’s salary within its salary cap. If the team is over the salary cap, it must make room under the cap by releasing or trading players to get under the limit.

The NFL also has something called a “risk reserve,” which is designed to protect teams from having to pay too much money to injured players who are no longer able to play. When a player is released or traded during the season, his previous team is only responsible for paying him up to half of his remaining salary for that season. This rule ensures that teams are not penalized too severely for releasing or trading players who turn out to be injured and unable to play.

The Free Agency Timeline

February
February is when teams can begin to place a franchise or transition tag on pending free agents. This is done in order to keep a player with the team for another season under terms of their current contract, or to receive compensation if the player signs elsewhere. The deadline for this is March 5th.

March
The new league year begins on March 14th at 4:00 p.m. ET, which is when free agency officially opens and teams can begin signing players to contracts. Players who were released by their team before the start of free agency are also free to sign with any team at this time.

April
The NFL Draft takes place in April, and while it doesn’t have a direct bearing on free agency, it can certainly affect a team’s plans. For example, if a team drafts a quarterback in the first round, they may be less likely to pursue a veteran quarterback in free agency.

May-July
Most of the big names will sign during the first week or two of free agency, but there are always a few stragglers. These tend to be players who are waiting for the right opportunity or trying to get the best deal possible. Once training camp starts in late July, most of the remaining unsigned players will have found new teams or be out of luck until next season.

What are the NFL Free Agency Rules?

The National Football League (NFL) free agency period begins on the first day of the league year. Upon the expiration of a player’s contract, that player is free to sign with any club, without regard to any draft order. If the player has been released by his old club, he is free to sign with any other club. If the player’s old club extends a “qualifying offer” (a one-year contract at the player’s previous year’s salary), the player can sign the offer and remain with his old club, or he can reject the offer and become an unrestricted free agent.

The Salary Cap

In order to keep the playing field level, and to prevent any one team from stockpiling all of the best players, the NFL has a salary cap. The salary cap is a hard limit on how much each team can spend on player salaries in a given year. For 2019, that number is $188.2 million.

There are a few ways that a team can get around the salary cap. One is by using what are called “veteran exceptions.” These exceptions allow a team to sign a player to a contract worth more than the salary cap would normally allow, as long as that player has been in the league for at least four years. Another way to get around the salary cap is by using “signing bonuses.” A signing bonus is money that a team pays to a player up front, and it’s not counted against the salary cap until the following year.

The salary cap applies to both offseason signings and in-season contract extension. So, if a team wants to sign a player during the season, they need to make sure they have enough room under the salary cap to do so.

Free Agency Tenders

Every year, dozens of NFL players hit the free agent market, looking for a new team to call home. While many of these players will sign lucrative contracts with new teams, others will find themselves unsigned and looking for work.

In order to ensure that all NFL teams are able to compete for free agents, the league has implemented a system of free agency tenders. These tenders are one-year contracts that give teams the right to match any offer that a player may receive from another team. If a team chooses not to match an offer, they will receive compensation in the form of draft picks from the signing team.

There are three different types of free agency tenders: restricted, unrestricted, and transition. Restricted free agents are players who have three years of NFL experience but their current contract has expired. Unrestricted free agents are those who have four or more years of NFL experience and are free to sign with any team. Transition players are those who have received the transition tag from their current team and can negotiate with other teams, but their current team has the right to match any offer they receive.

The amount of money that each type of tender is worth varies depending on a player’s experience level. For example, a first-round tender for a restricted free agent is worth $3.91 million while a second-round tender is worth $2.742 million. Unrestricted free agents can be tendered at various levels depending on their experience and expected salary demands.

Players who are not tendered by their current team become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team in the league. However, if they do not sign with a new team by the start of the NFL season, they must sit out the entire season and cannot play for any team during that time period.

Franchise and Transition Tags

In order to prevent players from becoming free agents, teams may place a franchise tag or transition tag on them. These tags bind the player to the team for one year, and the team must pay the player an average of the top five salaries at his position, or 120 percent of his previous salary — whichever is greater. Players with six or more years of experience become unrestricted free agents when their contracts expire.

Conclusion

Now that you know the ins and outs of NFL free agency, you can follow along with all the news and rumors leading up to the start of the league year. Keep track of which players have been franchise tagged and which ones are set to become free agents, and be ready to see how your favorite team attempts to improve its roster for the upcoming season.