With two days of legal tampering in the books, the official start of NFL free agency and the new league year are just hours away. A number of things are set to happen just before and after the clock hits 1:00 p.m. PT.
Prior to 1:00 p.m. PT March 13
Prior to the deadline, teams must exercise options for 2019 on all players who have option clauses in their 2018 contracts.
Clubs must also submit qualifying offers to their restricted free agents in order to retain a right of first refusal/compensation and minimum salary tenders to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with fewer than three accrued seasons.
Teams are required to adhere to the top 51 rule and be under the 2019 salary cap prior to the start of the new league year. The salary cap for 2019 has been set at $188.2 million.
Next up, the fun really begins.
The start of the new league year
First of all, player contracts valid through the 2018 season will expire and free agency will officially begin. Players who had already agreed to terms on new deals during the negotiating period are now free to sign with their new teams.
In the same vein, clubs who had figured trade deals can legally pull the trigger.
The first day of the new league year will end at 08:59:59 p.m. PT. Teams will then receive a personnel notice including all the transactions submitted to the league office that day.
We’ll have you covered on all things Seahawks so be sure and check in often for the latest free agency news and follow our tracker to stay updated on the latest transactions.
