2025 NFL Free Agency Legal Tampering Period: Fantasy Football Impact, Top Signings and Sleepers

Officially, NFL free agents can’t sign a contract with a new team until the start of the new league year on March 12, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. EDT.

It is against league rules for players to talk to other teams about a contract while still under contract with their current team. However, the NFL allows impending unrestricted free agents to begin negotiating with other teams two days before the official start of free agency. This window of negotiating is called the legal tampering period.

So what is allowed, and what is considered tampering? Let's take a look!

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What is Legal Tampering?

This process is known as the "legal tampering period," or as the NFL calls it, “the negotiating period for prospective unrestricted free agents.” You will also hear it referred to as the "negotiating window" or the "negotiation period," but let's be honest, those names are no fun, and the oxymoronic "legal tampering" rolls right off the tongue.

The name comes from the league violation of illegal tampering, which is when teams discuss contract terms with a player or coach who is currently under contract with another team.

A prime example of tampering is when Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and vice chairman Bruce Beal had many illegal communications with Tom Brady when he was under contract with the New England Patriots and head coach Sean Payton when he was under contract with the New Orleans Saints. The team was fined $1.5 million and had to forfeit their 2023 first-round draft pick and their 2024 third-round draft pick.

Similarly, the Atlanta Falcons were found to have illegally tampered with Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney, and Charlie Woerner before they were free agents, and the team was penalized with the loss of a fifth-round draft pick, $250,000 in fines and an additional $50,000 fine for general manager Terry Fontenot.

The NFL is docking the #Falcons a 2025 fifth-round pick for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy with Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney and Charlie Woerner. The team is also being fined $250,000 and GM Terry Fontenot is being fined $50,000.

The violations are considered… pic.twitter.com/fa7cHnHXWu

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 13, 2024

Technically, during the legal tampering period, the impending free agent is still under contract for another two days; however, teams are legally allowed to tamper during this window per the NFL rules and regulations, hence, legal tampering. The NFL doesn't like the phrase "legal tampering," but it isn't going anywhere.

When Does Legal Tampering Start?

Starting at noon EDT on March 10, 2025, impending unrestricted free agents are allowed to negotiate and agree to full contractual terms with a new team. The specific provisions of the legal tampering period in the CBA are that all teams have the right to negotiate all aspects of an NFL player contract with the certified agent of an impending unrestricted free agent.

When it comes down to it, player contracts are negotiated in full and accepted verbally, but the player can’t sign the contract and make their new team official until the official start of free agency at 4:00 p.m. EDT on March 12. The fireworks start immediately when the legal tampering period opens, and more times than not, the first few hours are more exciting than the official start of free agency.

At the start of the legal tampering period, teams are allowed to negotiate with the certified agents of players as well as players who represent themselves, though this was prohibited until 2019 when the league finally decided to let unrepresented players negotiate as well.

While it seems small, this change eliminated a significant disadvantage that unrepresented players faced during the legal tampering period and rightfully placed them on the same level as players with agents.

Restrictions

Although players can negotiate new contracts with prospective teams, there are a few restrictions during the legal tampering period. First, it is only available to impending unrestricted free agents. Restricted free agents must wait until the official start of free agency to begin negotiating potential offer sheets with other teams.

Second, teams and players/agents may only negotiate non-binding agreements. This seems silly, but technically, binding contracts are not permitted until the start of the NFL season on March 12 at 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Despite the non-binding nature of the legal tampering agreements, most players stick to their word and sign the contract they agreed to two days later. However, players such as Frank Gore Jr., Anthony Barr, and J.D. McKissic have all agreed to new contracts with a new team during the legal tampering period and went on to change their minds by the official start of free agency.

After telling the Jets he intended to sign with them, Anthony Barr got cold feet, changed his mind and informed the Vikings that he will be returning to Minnesota, as @MikeGarafolo reported.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2019

Lastly, players are not allowed to visit with the teams, and agents, as well as team personnel, are not allowed to make travel arrangements for player visits on March 12. Technically, they must wait until free agency begins before making travel plans.

Any violation of these rules can result in a penalty for conduct detrimental to the league and a violation of the NFL’s anti-tampering policy. If the offenses committed are egregious, this can result in substantial fines and even the loss of future draft picks, as we saw with the Miami Dolphins in 2023.

The legal tampering period is one of the most exciting times of the NFL offseason and I for one can't wait for the mayhem to ensue. There are not the usual high-profile free agents in this cycle, but if the NFL has taught us anything over the years, there will be plenty of surprises.

NOTE: Players who have been released by their team and are not subject to waivers become an unrestricted free agent immediately. Therefore, players who have just been cut, like Davante Adams and Tyler Lockett, are free to sign with any team at any time and do not need to wait for the start of the legal tampering period on March 10. For more information on players being subject to waivers, check out my first two articles on the franchise tag vs. the transition tag and unrestricted vs. restricted free agents.

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