NFL free agency officially begins on Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m. ET, but teams can start negotiating with players and agreeing to terms on March 11, two days before any actual signings can become official – a period colloquially known as ‘legal tampering.’
“The rules have loosened up, and it’s a ’negotiating period for prospective unrestricted free agents,’” BMitch said. “And ultimately, the player can only talk to the team he's on right now during this period, but his agent can talk to multiple people and do everything in essence that deals with a player's contract. They can agree to terms, but they can't sign anything or announce it until after 4 p.m.
on Wednesday.”
But why does that exist in the NFL, like it does in the NBA?
“Everything the NFL does is about show, and in this day and age, what is everybody looking for? They're looking for the big stuff,” Brian said. “They want to hear about the massive contracts, so what the NFL knows is if we didn't do it until 4 p.m., we lose a certain period to be the show. So, we're going to allow you to sit here and talk to people from Monday to Wednesday. You work out all of the problems, and then as soon as 4 p.m. hits, somebody is going to say so and so signed this contract and then all of a sudden we're going to see the sources drop it – which, in essence, tells me the deal was agreed upon and probably signed in that hand prior to 4 p.m.”
Maybe, but…
“The NFL has to do it their way, so they don't let the player actually go talk to the team. But if the agent is talking, in essence, I’m in the damn room,” Brian said. “They’re sitting there with a power of attorney to where he can sign that contract for me. I gave him the right, so he could be sitting there with you, and right at 3:59 he starts signing, and he finishes right after 4 p.m. – but I’m at the airport, or down th street, or in the parking lot. The NFL, knows how to play this game, because when it comes down to all of the people that want to market products, they like to get involved in the NFL. The NFL says they’re gonna have TV shows and all this with billions of dollars of deals gonna be signed, you have to be a part of this like the Super Bowl. It’s all about how they can make money.”
And, of course, when that clock strikes 4 p.m., all eyes are on NFL media, and by extension, those brands – and now, it’s year-round.
“When your draft and combine are rated higher than the playoffs of some other leagues, you have figured it out,” Brian said. “It's not a lot of games, compared to 82 in the NHL and NBA and 162 in MLB, so it's more appointment type stuff. But the NFL always has newness, which excites everybody. They got you hemmed up all year, and other leagues can’t promote it like that.”
