Free Agents
Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA)
A player with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract. Unrestricted free agents are free to negotiate and sign with any team.
Restricted Free Agent (RFA)
A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. Restricted free agents may negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team has the opportunity to make a “qualifying offer.” This will ensure that the team has the right of first refusal or compensation in the form of draft picks in the event that the player is offered a larger contract from a different team.
Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA)
A player with an expired contract and fewer than three accrued seasons. A team may offer an ERFA a one-year contract worth the minimum salary based on Credited Seasons to restrict the player from negotiating a contract with another team. However, if the original team does not make a qualifying offer, an ERFA may sign with another team.
Qualifying Offers
A qualifying offer provides a player’s original team with the right of first refusal to any offer sheet that an RFA signs with another team.
First Round Tender
A one-year contract worth a certain amount over the player’s prior year’s base salary. If a free agent’s original team does not match an offer sheet signed with a new team, the original team is entitled to a first-round draft pick from his new team.
Second Round Tender
A one-year contract worth a certain amount over the player’s prior year’s base salary. If a free agent’s original team does not match an offer sheet signed with a new team, the original team is entitled to a second-round draft pick from his new team.
Original Round Tender
A one-year contract worth a certain amount over the player’s prior year’s base salary. If a free agent’s original team does not match an offer sheet signed with a new team, the original team is entitled to a draft pick equal to the round the player was originally drafted in.
Compensation
Base Salary
The salary that a player receives for a given season.
Signing Bonus
A payment that is made upfront when a player signs his contract. Unlike a player’s base salary, a signing bonus is prorated over the life of a player’s contract (up to five years).
Dead Money
The amount of salary that a team has already paid or has committed to paying (e.g., signing bonus, fully guaranteed base salary, earned bonus) to a player, but has not been charged against the team’s salary cap. This is also known as a “sunk cost”.
Teams can spread a player’s cap hit over two seasons by releasing such player after June 1. Additionally, each team can designate two players as a June 1 releases, which allows the team to cut a player before June 1 and still spread the cap hit over two seasons.
Experience
Accrued Season
A player’s number of Accrued Seasons determines his free agency designation (e.g., unrestricted, restricted, exclusive rights). In order to accrue a season, a player must be eligible and ready to play at least six regular season games in a given season.
A player will not accrue a season if he is under contract with a team but does not report to that team at least 30 days prior to the start of the regular season (e.g., holdout).
In addition, a player cannot accrue a season if he is on the Exempt Commissioner Permission List, the Reserve Physically Unable to Perform List as the result of a non-football injury, or a team’s practice squad.
Tags
Franchise Tag
A designation a team can apply to a player who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year with a guaranteed salary.
Transition Tag
A designation a team can apply to a player who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag guarantees the original club the right of first refusal to match any offer the player may make with another team.
