Q. When does the 2026 free agency signing period begin?

A. At 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11.

Q. When is the two-day negotiating period for potential unrestricted free agents?

A. From 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 9 until 3:59:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon expiration of their 2025 player contracts at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 11. The two-day negotiating period applies only to prospective unrestricted free agents. It does not apply to players who have received, or who may receive, a required tender applicable to the 2026 League Year (e.g., exclusive rights players, restricted free agents, franchise players or transition players).

Q. What are the categories of free agency?

A. Players are either "restricted free agents" or "unrestricted free agents." A restricted free agent may be subject to a "qualifying offer." A restricted or unrestricted free agent may be designated by his prior club as its franchise player or transition player.

Q. What is the time period for free agency signings this year?

A. For restricted free agents, from March 11 to April 17.

For unrestricted free agents who have received a tender from their prior club by the Monday immediately following the final day of the NFL Draft for the 2026 League Year (i.e., April 27), from March 11 to July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later).

For franchise players, from March 11 until the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season, November 17.

For transition players, from March 11 until July 22. After July 22 and until 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season, November 17, the prior club has exclusive negotiating rights to unrestricted free agents and transition players. If the above-listed players do not sign by November 17, they must sit out the season.

Q. What is the difference between a restricted free agent and an unrestricted free agent?

A. In the 2026 league year, players with three accrued seasons who have received a qualifying offer become restricted free agents when their contracts expire at the conclusion of the 2025 league year on March 11. Unrestricted free agents have completed four or more accrued seasons. Upon expiration of his 2025 contract, an unrestricted free agent is free to sign with any club with no draft-choice compensation owed to his old club.

Q. What constitutes an "accrued season"?

A. Six or more regular season games on a club's active/inactive, reserve/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists.

Q. How do the free agency rules apply to restricted free agents?

A. If a player with three accrued seasons has received a "qualifying offer" (a salary tender predetermined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its players) from his old club, he can negotiate with any club through April 17. If the restricted free agent signs an offer sheet with a new club, his old club can match the offer and retain him because the qualifying offer entitles it to a "right of first refusal" on any offer sheet the player signs. If the old club does not match the offer, it may receive draft-choice compensation depending on the amount of its qualifying offer. If an offer sheet is not executed on or before April 17, the player's negotiating rights revert exclusively to his old club. In addition, prior to the start of free agency a player who would otherwise be a restricted free agent may be designated by his old club as its franchise player or transition player.

Q. What are the right of first refusal/qualifying offer amounts for players who have completed three accrued seasons?

A. For right of first refusal only, a one-year salary of at least $3,520,000.

For right of first refusal and compensation at the player's original draft round, a one-year salary of at least $3,674,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

For right of first refusal and compensation of one second-round draft selection, a one-year salary of at least $5,767,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

For right of first refusal and compensation of one first-round draft selection, a one-year salary of at least $8,046,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

For right of first refusal and compensation of only one first-round draft selection, but any provision in the new club's offer sheet waiving or limiting the new club's ability to designate the player as a franchise or transition player is not a principal term and need not be matched by the prior club, a one-year salary of at least $8,546,000 or 110 percent of the 2025 Paragraph 5 salary, whichever is greater.

Q. What determines an unrestricted free agent?

A. A player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. He is free to sign with any club, with no draft-choice compensation owed to his old club, through July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later). At that point, his negotiating rights revert exclusively to his old club if by April 27 the old club tendered the player a one-year contract for 110 percent of his prior year's salary. His old club then has until the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season (November 17) to sign him. If he does not sign by that date, he must sit out the season. If no tender is offered by April 27, the player can be signed by any club at any time throughout the season.

Q. What determines a franchise player?

A. The salary offer by a player's club determines what type of franchise player he is: exclusive or non-exclusive.

• An "exclusive" franchise player – not free to sign with another club – is offered the greater of (i) the average of the top
• five salaries at the player's position for the current year as of the end of the restricted free agent signing period on
• April 18; or (ii) the amount of the required tender for a non-exclusive franchise player, as explained below.
• Article 10, Section 2(a)(i) of the CBA sets forth the methodology, known as the "Cap Percentage Average," for calculating the required tender for a non-exclusive franchise player:

The Nonexclusive Franchise Tender shall be a one year NFL Player Contract for (A) the average of the five largest Prior Year Salaries for players at the position . . . at which the Franchise Player participated in the most plays during the prior League Year, which average shall be calculated by: (1) summing the amounts of the Franchise Tags for players at that position for the five preceding League Years; (2) dividing the resulting amount by the sum of the Salary Caps for the five preceding League Years . . . ; and (3) multiplying the resulting percentage by the Salary Cap for the upcoming League Year . . . (the "Cap Percentage Average") . . . ; or (B) 120% of his Prior Year Salary, whichever is greater . . . .

If a club extends a required tender to a "non-exclusive" franchise player pursuant to this section, the player shall be permitted to negotiate a player contract with any club, except that draft-choice compensation of two first-round draft selections shall be made in the event he signs with a new club.

Q. How many franchise players and transition players can a team designate each season?

A. A club can designate one franchise player or one transition player among its potential restricted or unrestricted free agents.

Q. Can a club decide to withdraw its franchise or transition designation on a player?

A. Yes. A club can withdraw its franchise or transition designation, and the player then automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent, either immediately if the tender is withdrawn after the start of the 2026 league year, or when his 2025 contract expires if the tender is withdrawn before the start of the 2026 league year.

Q. What is the salary cap for 2026?

A. The salary cap is $301.2 million per club.

Q. When must teams be in compliance with the salary cap?

A. At the start of the 2026 league year, which begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11.

Q. If a team is under the salary cap at the end of a given season, can the team "carry over" room to the next season?

A. Yes. A team may carry over room from one league year to the following league year by submitting notice to the NFL prior to 4:00 p.m. ET on the day following the team's final regular-season game, indicating the amount of room that the club wishes to carry over.

Q. What is the maximum amount of room that a club can carry over?

A. A club can carry over 100 percent of its remaining 2025 room to its adjusted salary cap for 2026.

IMPORTANT CONTRACT TERMS

Base salary

Formally known as "Paragraph 5" salary due to its place in a standard NFL Player Contract, it is the compensation a player receives during the regular season. The collective bargaining agreement set league minimums for base salaries. A player's "game check" is 1/18th of his base salary in a 17-game season. When a player is suspended for a game, he forfeits 1/18th of his base salary.

In 2020 and in the Final League Year (2030), players will be paid 100 percent of their base salary in weekly or bi-weekly amounts. This changes from 2021-2029 when players will be paid 50 percent of their salary over the course of a period that is double the number of weeks the player is eligible to be paid for (i.e. 18-week regular season would be paid over a 36-week period).

Signing Bonus

Money earned by a player for signing his contract. Typically paid out within the first 12-18 months. Prorated against the salary cap for the life of the contract (five-season maximum).

Roster Bonus

Compensation earned by remaining on a team's roster on a certain date. Roster bonuses count in full against the salary cap in the season in which they are earned, unless fully guaranteed at signing. They are used to avoid signing-bonus proration, which pushes dead money into the future.

Per-Game Roster Bonus

A roster bonus awarded on a per-game basis for being on the team's gameday (47 or 48-man) roster ("Active List") or its active (53-man) roster ("Active/Inactive List"), which varies by contract. For example, in a 17-game season, a player with a $1.7 million per-game roster bonus for being on the gameday roster would earn $100,000 for each game he is active. Any previous contract clauses for 46- and 53-man per-game roster bonuses will be amended to reflect the new roster sizes.

Note: Under the new CBA, teams are permitted to have 48 players active on gameday if said team has eight active offensive linemen. If the team has fewer than eight players whose primary position is center, guard or offensive tackle, it can only have 47 gameday actives. Teams can still not exceed a 53-man Active/Inactive List unless it is promoting one or two practice-squad players using the "Standard Elevation Addendum," in which case the team can expand its roster to 54 or 55 (only using said practice-squad players).

Option Bonus

Gives a team (or, at times, a player) the ability to exercise the current or future years of the contract by paying a bonus. Prorated over the life of the contract (like a signing bonus, up to a max of five seasons).

Workout Bonus

Compensation for attending an agreed-upon percentage of the offseason workouts. No workout bonus can require participation in beyond 84.375 percent of the team's scheduled workouts (i.e. a player can miss five of 32 scheduled workouts and still receive his bonus.

Reporting Bonus

Earned by reporting to team activities by a specified date.

Incentives (LTBE/NLTBE)

Incentives in a player contract are limited to the list provided in Exhibits A-C in Article 13 Section 6 of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement (page 116-119).

Player incentives are considered "likely to be earned" (LTBE) or "not likely to be earned" (NLTBE) based on the player or team's prior-year performance.

For example, if a player has a $500,000 incentive for accumulating 1,000+ rush yards in the upcoming season and he had 1,000+ rush yards the previous season, the incentive is considered LTBE. If he did not record 1,000+ rush yards in the previous season, the incentive is considered NLTBE.

Except in certain circumstances, LTBE incentives count against the team's salary cap in the current season, and NLTBE incentives do not count against a team's current year's cap. Except in rare cases, unearned LTBE incentives are credited to the following season's salary cap, while earned NLTBE incentives are charged against the following season's salary cap.

Salary escalators

A salary escalator is similar to an incentive in that it is triggered by attaining certain performance thresholds. However, the extra money is not always guaranteed to be received.

An earned escalator translates into a raise in a future year(s) of the contract. If the escalator applies to a non-guaranteed season and the player is released prior to it, he would not receive the benefit of his escalator. Contracts can also contain de-escalators that lower a player's salary for failing to reach performance measures.

Dead money

Refers to salary a team has already paid or has committed to paying (i.e., a signing bonus, fully guaranteed base salaries, earned bonuses) but has not been charged against the salary cap.

In business terms, it is essentially a "sunk cost." Any money a team pays a player must be accounted for against the salary cap. If there is dead money in a player's contract and he is released or retires, that charge will accelerate onto the team's salary cap for the current year.

There is one avenue to lower this cap hit in a current League Year: the June 1 designation. Teams can spread the cap hit over two seasons by releasing or trading a player after June 1—any signing bonus prorations for future seasons are charged to the following seasons' salary cap. Teams are allowed to release two players prior to June 1 (but on or after the first day of the League Year) while still using this designation and getting the same cap treatment. However, the cap savings created by a June 1 designation do not take effect until after June 1.

Veteran Salary Benefit

Formerly known as the minimum salary benefit, the veteran salary benefit allows teams to offer a "Qualifying Contract" to any player with at least four credited seasons at a reduced salary cap hit. Under this provision, a qualifying contract is a one-year deal worth the minimum base salary applicable to a player with his number of credited seasons, plus $167,500 in additional compensation (i.e., signing bonus, roster bonus, incentive). These contracts are charged against the salary cap at the rate of a player with two credited seasons that league year.

Four-Year Qualifying Contract

Another type of veteran salary benefit, it can be offered to a player with at least four credited seasons whose contract with a team has expired after being on said team for four or more consecutive, uninterrupted league years prior to his contract expiring. Such a player must have been on the team's 90-man active/inactive list for said seasons (and every regular-season and postseason game). Teams can sign a maximum of two eligible players to this type of salary benefit.

A qualifying contract under this benefit is a one-year deal with a base salary of up to $1.55 million more than the minimum base salary for said player. However, if a team does sign two players to a qualifying contract, it can only give a combined $1.55 million in additional base salary between the two deals. Under such agreements, only the applicable minimum base salary (not the $1.45 million benefit) is charged against the salary cap.

Waivers

When a player contract is terminated, he is either free to negotiate and with a team at any time or subject to waivers. When released, a contract for a player with fewer than four credited seasons is subject to waivers at all times. The waiver system allows teams to place a claim on a player contract before that player becomes a free agent. The team with the highest priority will be awarded the player. A contract for a player with four or more credited seasons is not subject to waivers when released from the day after the Super Bowl through the trade deadline. After this date and outside of this period, the contract must be placed on waivers and can be claimed by another team.

ROOKIE CONTRACTS

Length: Contracts for drafted rookies are set at four years. Undrafted rookies receive three-year contracts.

Fifth-Year Option: The fifth-year option got a makeover under the new CBA. Each player selected in the first round of the NFL draft has a team option for a fifth season automatically included in his contract, which extends the four-year rookie contract to a fifth season for a non-negotiable fixed amount. Teams must exercise this option in the time after the conclusion of the player's third regular season but prior to May 1 of the following league year.

The new CBA restructured this option starting with the 2018 draft class so that different fifth-year option salaries can be earned based on performance in the first three seasons of a player's career. The fifth-year option is fully guaranteed when exercised. If such a player's fourth-year salary is not fully guaranteed for skill, cap, and injury, it becomes guaranteed as well when the option in exercised.

First-round picks will receive a base salary equal to the cap percentage average of the transition tag for the player's position in his fourth season but using the appropriate third- through 25th-highest PYS if they have not been selected to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot and did not (a) partake in at least 75 percent of his team's offensive or defensive plays in two of his first three regular seasons or (b) play a cumulative average of 75 percent of his team's offensive or defensive plays over the course of his first three regular seasons or (c) log at least 50 percent of his team's offensive or defensive snaps in each of his first three regular seasons.

First-round picks will receive a base salary equal to the cap percentage average of the transition tag for the player's position in his fourth season but using the appropriate third- through 20th-highest PYS at the player's position if they have not been selected to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot but did (a) partake in at least 75 percent of his team's offensive or defensive plays in two of his first three regular seasons or (b) play a cumulative average of 75 percent of his team's offensive or defensive plays over the course of his first three regular seasons or (c) log at least 50 percent of his team's offensive or defensive snaps in each of his first three regular seasons.

A first-round pick named to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot in one of his first three regular seasons will receive a fifth-year option equal to the transition tag at his position for the league year of the player's fourth year of his rookie deal. Those selected to two or more Pro Bowls in their first three seasons will receive a fifth-year option equal to the franchise tag applicable to his position in the player's fourth season.

In 2026, players on the fifth-year option will be fined $45,000 for each day of any late reporting or absence from training camp and one week of regular-season salary for each preseason game missed.

Rookie Salary

A player's rookie salary is composed of the following: signing bonus, base salary, offseason workout per diem (beginning in the second season), base-salary guarantees, permitted performance incentives, roster bonuses and reporting bonuses.