2024 NFL Free Agency Primer: Restricted vs. Unrestricted Free Agents

Frank breaks down the difference between restricted and unrestricted free agents ahead of 2024 NFL free agency starting on March 13.

The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions once more, but now it is time to start looking ahead to 2024 and who will be crowned the next Super Bowl champions. That journey begins on March 13 with the start of the official league year, and the beginning of free agency. The concept of free agency is rather simple: unsigned players can sign with new teams for more money. Players get paid for their performance, and teams can improve by adding talent to the depleted positions on their roster. However, the process of free agency is intricate and quite complex, but fear not, I am here to break it all down for you in my NFL Free Agency Primer series.

Players become free agents for a variety of different reasons. Some players’ contracts are expiring, some players are cut from their teams, and some players can only be signed to contracts with new teams under certain conditions. Furthermore, there are two designations of free agents, restricted and unrestricted free agents. Perhaps the most complex aspect of free agency is the variety of ways that teams can protect themselves from losing a valuable player. Teams can apply the franchise tag or transition tag as well as a first, second, or Right of First Refusal tender depending on their free-agent status. Now, let's dive in so you can follow along when free agency kicks off and breaking news starts dropping every hour. It is one of the best times of the year and I can’t wait to see the madness that ensues.

In the last article of the Free Agency Primer series, let’s discuss unrestricted vs. restricted free agents. Unrestricted free agents is just as it sounds, the player can sign with another team for more money. Restricted free agents is much different and far more complex as the player's original team holds all the power. Let's dive in!

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Unrestricted Free Agents

When it comes to free agents, there are two classifications, restricted (RFA) and unrestricted free agents (UFA). An unrestricted free agent is as simple as it sounds, the player is not under contract and is free to sign with any team under any terms.

A player becomes an unrestricted free agent by one of three ways. First, the player is released from his team and is not subject to waivers. A player is not subject to waivers if that player has four accrued seasons (on the active 53-man roster, reserve/injured, or reserve/physically unable to perform lists for at least six regular-season games) in the NFL. Second, the player has at least four accrued seasons, was under contract, and the contract has fully expired. Last, the player was not drafted in the NFL Draft.

The Giants are not going to use the franchise tag on RB Saquon Barkley, as @rapsheet reported. That means he'll hit the free-agent market next week.

The door is not closed on a return to New York, but it'll depend on if he gets what he thinks is 'fair' from somebody else.

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) March 5, 2024

While UFAs hold most of the cards, teams are able to protect against the player leaving them by placing the franchise or transition tag on the pending UFA. These tags are essentially a one-year contract for a predetermined set salary, but there is a little more too it than that. Both tags are thoroughly explained in the previous article of this series.

Popular UFAs that are eligible to negotiate and sign with a new team at the start of the legal tampering period on March 11 include but are not limited to: Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield at quarterback; Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, D'Andre Swift, and Tony Pollard at running back; Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, and Michael Thomas at wide receiver; Hunter Henry and Noah Fant at tight end.

Derrick Henry's first offseason as free agent is starting off strong 💪pic.twitter.com/9nr0N3nB9y

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) March 7, 2024

Restricted Free Agents

Now, here is where it gets really good. Restricted free agents are much more complex than unrestricted free agents. RFAs have restrictions on the terms under which they can sign with their original team or negotiate a contract with other teams.

A player is classified as an RFA when he has three accrued seasons in the NFL and his contract is about to expire. This becomes complicated when you have drafted rookies, normally signed to a four-year contract (fifth-year option on first-round rookies), who sit out the year on the non-football injury list or due to a suspension.

These designations allow the teams to keep these players under contract while also removing them from the active 53-man roster. In other words, these players do not have an accrued season and are extremely likely to become restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents down the road.

Tenders

RFAs can negotiate a long-term deal with their current team and play under a one-year contract with their current team for a salary that is predetermined by the league (tenders), or negotiate with other teams for a long-term deal subject to certain protections held by the players' current team.

In order to protect themselves from losing a valuable player with three accrued seasons, the current team must assign a “tender” to the restricted free agent of either a first-round, second-round, or a Right of First Refusal tender. The tender allows the player to negotiate with other teams, but protects the original team by giving it what is called a Right of First Refusal. If another team reaches an agreement with the tendered player, they must sign that player to an offer sheet that lays out the full terms of the proposed contract.

The Right of First Refusal means that the original team has the right to match any offer made to the tendered player. If the team matches the offer, then it creates a contract with the tendered player. If the team does not match the offer, then a contract is created with the new team and the original team receives a draft pick from the new team, which parallels the tender that was assigned to the player as compensation for losing that player.

For example, Player A is given a first-round tender, and therefore a new team who wishes to sign Player A must give up its first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft to the original team in order to sign him if the original team fails to match the offer sheet.

The same goes for a second-round tender. However, the Right of First Refusal tender  is a tender without any compensation if the player signs with a new team. The team still gets the Right of First Refusal to match the offer sheet, but it receives zero compensation if they do not.

So why wouldn’t every team place a first-round tender on all of their restricted free agents? The answer is simple: money. The tender chosen also determines the salary for that player if a long-term agreement is not reached, and could be the difference between a team getting under the salary cap. A first-round tender is obviously the most costly to a team.

Here are projections for restricted free-agent salaries for 2022, according to Over the Cap:

• First Rounder: $$6,822,000
• Second Rounder: $$4,890,000
• Right of First Refusal: $2,985,000

NOTE: A player with less than three accrued seasons and an expiring contract is an exclusive rights free agent. These players must play under a one-year contract at the league minimum if their team makes them an offer. They do not have the right to negotiate with other teams unless their original team fails to offer them the contract.

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