Types of Free Agents

Types of Free Agents

Unrestricted free agent (UFA)

Any player with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract; free to negotiate and sign with any team.

Restricted free agent (RFA)

A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers ("tenders") that come with the Right of First Refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent. Teams must submit these tenders before the start of the 2026 League Year (4 p.m. ET on March 11). These amounts change annually but the following numbers are for the 2026 season (players can choose either (a) or (b) regardless of which is greater in the applicable tenders below). 

The RFA tenders are classified as follows:

• First-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $8.107 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. If the player's original team decides not to match an offer sheet signed with another team, it is entitled to a first-round draft pick from his new team. Unless received two days or later prior to the NFL Draft, draft compensation for each tender is due in the same League Year as the offer sheet is signed.
  
  A signed offer sheet with a new team includes Principal Terms that must be matched by the prior club. However, if the new team includes a term(s) that waives or limits its ability to designate the RFA a franchise player in the future, the prior team will not have to match this term if it has tendered the player with an offer worth $500,000 more than the first-round tender ($8.107 million in 2026).
  
• Second-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $5.811 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. Draft-choice compensation: second-round pick.
  
• Original-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $3.674 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. Draft-choice compensation: a pick in the round the player was originally drafted in.
• Right-of-first-refusal tender: One-year contract worth $3.547 million. Team has the right to match any offer sheet signed with another team, but there is no draft compensation tied to this tender.
• Upgraded Tender: If a team places a first-round tender on a player who was selected outside of the first round, it can only receive a second-round pick as compensation for any of its other RFAs who were first-round draft picks. The same is true for the second-round tender—if a team uses it on a player drafted in the third round or lower, it can only receive a third-round pick for any other second-round RFA it intends to tender.

Exclusive rights free agent (ERFA)

Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.

Accrued seasons

Used to determine a player's free agency status (unrestricted, restricted, exclusive rights). In order to accrue a season, a player must have been on (or should have been on) full-play status for at least six regular-season games in a given season. A player under contract must report to his team’s training camp on his mandatory reporting date to earn an accrued season. If player holds out his services for a “material period of time,” he is also at risk of not accruing a season.

Credited seasons

Used as a measure for many benefits, it most notably determines a player's minimum salary. To earn a credited season, a player must be on (or should have been on) full-pay status for a total of three or more regular season games.

Below is a list of minimum salaries based on credited seasons for the 2026 season:

• 0 seasons ($885,000)
• 1 season ($1,050,000)
• 2 seasons ($1,075,000)
• 3 seasons ($1,145,000)
• 4-6 seasons ($1,215,000)
• 7+ seasons ($1,300,000)