The NFL’s legal tampering period begins on Monday.
The 2020 NFL league year and the start of the NFL’s free agency period are set to begin on March 16th at 3:00 p.m. CT, but teams can begin negotiations with free agents on March 14th at 11:00am CT.
The legal tampering period is essentially a two-day window, during which teams can begin communicating and negotiating with representation for free agents. This period plays a large part in the spectacle that is NFL free agency. It will also help determine where some of the bigger free agents will end up across the league.
There are plenty of different rules from the NFL surrounding what exactly legal tampering entails. Here’s a look at the things teams can do and what they can’t do.
What you can do during the legal tampering period:
- Applicable to unrestricted free agents only.
- Negotiate “all aspects of an NFL player contract” with a player’s representation.
What you can’t do during the legal tampering period:
- Teams can’t talk to restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents during this two-day period.
- Teams can’t negotiate directly with players, even if they act as their own representation.
- Contracts can’t be executed or agreed to in principle during the legal tampering window.
- Players can’t take team visits during this period or make travel arrangements for visits.
- Contract announcements can’t be made by teams until the new league year begins.
Tampering violations can result in steep consequences, including the loss of draft picks, and fines from the NFL. Chiefs fans are familiar with the harshest of consequences. The league came down hard on Kansas City for supposedly tampering with free-agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
The Chiefs have 20 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on the 18th of March. Here’s a quick gallery list of those players:
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K.C. currently has around $18.4 million in cap space according to Spotrac. That number doesn’t factor in the franchise tag, club options or exclusive rights free agent tenders. During the legal tampering period, the Chiefs would be wise to do their diligence on some replacement options for several players departing in free agency. On the defensive side of the ball, they could be looking at linebackers and cornerbacks. On offense, they could look to add depth at any number of positions.