From March 11 until March 13 the NFL official calendar has something listed as such:
“Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2018 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 13.”
This is what is essentially known as the legal tampering period. Players and teams can not officially sign deals until the new league year on March 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET. That’s kind of odd. We already have a ton of reports of teams reaching agreements with free agents –and you should check out Doug Farrar’s grades in that link. The deals are done. The legal tampering period is useless, so get rid of it.
There is an illegal tampering period. It happens the week before at the NFL Draft Combine where coaches, front office personnel and agents are all meeting anyway. There’s tampering done there. We know it happens. It doesn’t matter. In fact, tampering — as defined by the rules — is actually used by teams and agents because the earlier these deals are agreed upon, the easier it is to plan. We know this tampering happens and no one cares.
We also know that these deals are being agreed upon already. Why do we have to wait another two days? It’s pretty simple. If a team reaches a deal with a free agent, then let them sign that day. If that means starting the league year a few days earlier or later then so be it. The tampering period makes no sense. The deals are done. Let them be done.
