The NFL is gearing up for the commencement of its free agency period, which officially kicks off on Monday. This period starts with a 52-hour legal tampering phase, preceding the start of the new league year on Wednesday. During this time, notable players such as quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Sam Darnold, and Justin Fields will be eligible to negotiate new contracts with potential teams.
The concept of legal tampering allows teams to enter into negotiations with players who are due to become unrestricted free agents once their contracts conclude at 4 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, marking the new league year’s onset. However, these players are restricted from signing with new teams until the league year officially begins. This two-day negotiation window is exclusive to those who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
An unrestricted free agent is defined as a player with a minimum of four accumulated seasons, which are counted as six or more regular-season games on a club’s various rosters like active/inactive, reserve/injured, or reserve/physically unable to perform lists. When their contracts end, these players have the liberty to negotiate and sign with any interested team.
On the other hand, restricted free agents are those players who have accrued three seasons and have received a qualifying offer when their current contract expires on Wednesday.
In terms of franchise tags, each NFL team is permitted to designate one of their potential free agents as a franchise player. Only Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and Chiefs guard Trey Smith were designated with this tag prior to the closing deadline of March 4. An exclusive franchise player is restricted from signing with another team and is guaranteed the larger of the average salaries of the top five players at their position for the year or the designated tender for a nonexclusive franchise player.
A nonexclusive franchise player has the option to sign with another team, but their new club must compensate the previous team with two first-round draft picks. This year, all franchise-tagged players fall under the nonexclusive category. Teams have until November 11 to finalize contracts with their franchise players.
The transition tag is another tool teams can use, offering a player a one-year contract reflecting the average of the top 10 salaries at their position. This tag gives the original team first refusal rights on any offer from another team but does not provide any compensation if they choose not to match. Notably, no players were assigned a transition tag this year.
Both franchise and transition tags can be rescinded, which would automatically make the player an unrestricted free agent.
Regarding financial limits, the 2025 salary cap is set at $279.2 million per team, an increase from the previous year’s $255.4 million. Teams are mandated to adhere to this cap by 4 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.
Salary cap rollover is a strategic provision allowing teams to carry over unused salary cap space from one year to the next. To do this, they must inform the NFL of their intention before 4 p.m. EDT the day after their last regular-season game, enabling them to add 100% of their leftover 2024 space to the 2025 adjusted cap.
