Despite the coronavirus pandemic impacting the nation, the NFL has not pushed back the start of the new league year or free agency.
Now official: The NFL’s 2020 league year will start on time. They informed teams in a memo that the schedule stands. So, tags are due tomorrow at 11:59 am, tampering begins at noon, the league year starts Wednesday at 4 pm. It will be an escape.
The NFL has finally answered the question of whether or not the new league year and free agency will start on time as scheduled or be pushed back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the nation.
A memo has been sent out to all 32 teams around the league informing them it will be business as usual for the NFL this week, with the legal tampering period kicking things off Monday morning at 9 a.m. PT. Free agency and the new league year will follow, beginning March 18.
Unlike other sports leagues that have shut down operations over the last few days due to the threat of the virus spreading, the NFL has been taking care of a few housekeeping issues. After a player vote which concluded Saturday night, the proposed new collective bargaining agreement has been approved and will govern through the next 11 seasons.
Touchdown Wire guest columnist and former NFL executive Joe Banner discusses how coronavirus is affecting teams’ short- and long-term plans.
The ability to work in the NFL is a gift. There is the thrill of the games, the exhilaration of getting a contract done with a key player, or the moment a player slips to you in the draft when you thought he was out of reach. Most of the time, though, your responsibility as an NFL executive is dealing with the same type of details and plans that are a part of any other job when the world enters an unpredictable phase. That’s what front offices feel like when you don’t know when the league year will start, what the rules are, dates and location of the draft, and whether the 2020 season will happen as planned.
Let’s briefly revisit September 2001 to see if it may inform the types of decisions the league and its teams face today with the coronavirus pandemic. I was the Eagles’ team president at the time of 9/11. The biggest decision then was whether to play regular-season games or postpone them. The league ultimately decided to postpone the Week 2 games and to play them at the end of the regular season and push the playoffs a week back as well. The similarity here is that all the open questions are totally in the hands of the league, and the execution of those decisions is left to the teams. There are a few committees and some trusted owners that the league will consult with, but otherwise, you are just sitting by the phone waiting for answers.
Browns CEO Joe Banner appear at a news conference in Berea, Ohio, on Jan. 11, 2013. (David Richard – USA TODAY Sports)
The league is likely to have developed a policy or at least a guideline for almost anything you can imagine. It is the same with the well-run teams. When I was with the Eagles, we had an internal group that I would bring together when things happened that might upset the timing of the calendar at any given point. We would make a list of all the possible things that could come up, and have subgroups start to gather information or begin to put a plan together that we could implement.
Right now, that’s a long list of possibilities. That’s really the biggest challenge for team planning at this moment. You would want your group to plan for outcomes in the next few days, as well as those as far out as training camp and the regular season.
Other than being ready for all outcomes, there is not much you can do right now, and you have no control over the most important decisions.
I recently spoke with someone from the league whom I trust. This person said that it was a 95% possibility that the league year and free agency would start as scheduled, which has proven out. The draft will happen on time, but some question whether it will be a major public event as it has been in recent years. We are at least 3-4 months away from any decisions on preseason games and longer than that on the regular season.
I also called two teams regarding their future planning. The answer was nothing. Both teams had taken scouts off the road (as all teams have) and have people working from home. This was decided over the past week, and the people I spoke with feel like it’s months from having anything else to figure out.
The possibility that the pandemic could get a lot worse before it gets better is an argument for keeping free agency on schedule, so it doesn’t affect the draft or offseason workouts when conditions get better. On the other hand, some elements of free agency — most clearly player physicals — would need to be dealt with differently than usual. I don’t think the league will or should be driven by optics. The league should make a prudent decision that is driven by health concerns and that preserves their future plans if things are better in a few months. The truth is that optics are likely to be awful for a fairly long time.
Everything is different than it was just a month ago, and the offseason schedule for the NFL is not getting a pass. Time and circumstances will answer some of the future questions and others will fire up the second-guessers who may not have anything else to talk about.
It’s a good time to not be a decision-maker, when it is so easy to be criticized no matter which way you go. Either way, it’s a no-win situation.
Joe Banner served as president of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1995 through 2012. He also served as CEO of the Cleveland Browns in 2012 and 2013 and worked as a front office consultant for the Atlanta Falcons in 2014 and 2015. In 2001, Banner received a “PARTNERS Leadership Award” from the University of Pennsylvania for extensive community service, including reading to students in Boston public schools and spending time with severely ill youths at Boston Children’s Hospital. He also has been heavily involved, in Boston and Philadelphia, with City Year, a program based on volunteers who commit to a year of full-time work.
Sports might have ground down to a standstill around the country as the nation is facing a coronavirus pandemic, however, Sunday has proved to be a huge day around the NFL.
Shortly after the ratification was approved, the league announced the new salary cap would be set at $198.2 million for 2020, a $10 million increase from last year but somewhat lower than some initially projected within the range proposed, which could have maxed out at $201.2 million.
This season’s increase marks the seventh year in a row the cap has gone up by at least $10 million but is the smallest since 2013.
The new league year, and the start of free agency, are set to kick off on Wednesday, March 18, but could be pushed back if the league decides to suspend operations as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
It appears the NFL now has a firm schedule for the beginning of the new league year, the ratification of the proposed new CBA and the all-important to the Dallas Cowboys law regarding the use of one or two restrictive tags available to use on …
It appears the NFL now has a firm schedule for the beginning of the new league year, the ratification of the proposed new CBA and the all-important to the Dallas Cowboys law regarding the use of one or two restrictive tags available to use on pending free agents.
On Tuesday morning, the NFL and NFLPA made a joint agreement to extend the franchise and transition tag deadlines once again. Already moved once, the sides are doing what they can to adjust to the ever-changing landscape surrounding the player’s vote on the new collective bargaining agreement.
New timeline for the NFL week ahead:
Saturday, 11:59 p.m.: Players' vote on proposed CBA ends
Monday, 11:59:59 a.m.: Franchise/transition tag deadline
Monday, noon: Negotiating window opens
Wednesday 3/18, 4 p.m.: League year and free agency begin
On Monday, the NFLPA extended the voting window for the players, which has to have 50%-plus-1 approval to ratify the league’s proposal. That window for all votes to be tallied is now Saturday, March 14 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
As new understanding of the CBA’s finer points have been realized, several players have petitioned the NFLPA’s executive board to re-cast their votes, but those requests have been denied. The NFLPA is also going to be holding elections.
CBA deals, franchise and transition tags, legal tampering periods and free agency all start in the next two weeks.
Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
It’s offseason calendar watching time in the NFL and there are some important events set to happen over the next two weeks. We’ll know more about the labor situation and the makeup of teams by March 18th. Here are the dates where you should always be by a phone, computer, or television.
March 12th, CBA Vote Deadline
The deadline for players to vote arrives three days short of the ides of March. This one is pretty simple. Either the players vote to ratify the new CBA or they vote to decline the offer. Going with the second option puts them back at square one. There aren’t many negotiating points that the owners would be willing to give up on. Some people seem to be focusing on the revenue split. In the current offer, it sits at 48 percent. Even if the players fight for 50 percent they will have to figure out if the TV deal will be a lower dollar amount a year from now. It only takes simple math to figure out that 48 percent of 10 billion is more than 50 percent of nine billion.
This deal should be watched closely. It could set up the NFL for the next 10 years or it could lead to a lockout and a situation where we all miss football. The deal only passed 17-14 with team reps so it’s going to be a tight vote.
The Seattle Seahawks need to find a way to keep defensive end Jadeveon Clowney – set to become a free agent in March – in the Emerald City.
With the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in the books and the NFL draft two months away, teams around the league are turning their attention to the next big event on the NFL calendar – the start of free agency and the new league year – which kicks off on March 18.
The Seahawks, like all 31 other clubs around the country, have some tough decisions to make regarding players set to become unrestricted free agents. One such player is receiving his fair share of media attention and speculation.
Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling of NFL.com put together their list of the top 101 free agents of 2020 and Seattle defensive end Jadeveon Clowney landed at No. 3.
“Clowney’s production doesn’t always match the hype, but he can still hijack an offense at peak moments – often in the biggest games,” Rosenthal and Wesseling note. “Don’t let the three-sack total fool you: He was a difference-maker in his Seattle debut, as the pass rush tended to vanish for quarters at a time whenever he missed stretches due to nagging injuries.”
Only wide receiver Amari Cooper (No. 2) and quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 1) rank higher than Clowney in the top 101 free agents of 2020.
Could the Seattle Seahawks be targeting Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Jack Conklin as a potential free agent come March?
Most mocks are projecting the Seahawks will look to beef up their defensive line again this year via April’s NFL draft. But Seattle also has needs on the other side of the ball, including the offensive line.
Around the NFL writer, Nick Shook, took a look at one player each club could target this season at the start of the new league year. He has the Seahawks eyeing current Titans tackle, Jack Conklin.
“Conklin fits on the Seahawks for two reasons: Germain Ifedi is headed to free agency and isn’t a lock to be retained because of his up-and-down play, and Seattle will have $50 million to work with this offseason,” Shook writes. “That seems to create an ideal landing spot for Conklin, who would shore up a position that has been a liability for the Seahawks for some time.”
Conklin has spent the last four seasons in Tennessee, however, the Titans opted to not pick up his fifth-year option. Conklin started all 16 regular games played in 2019.
Seattle looked to free agency last year to add a veteran to the line and this March should be no different for the Seahawks.
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney lands at No. 2 in USA TODAY Sports’ top free agents heading into the 2020 NFL season.
March is one of the busiest times of the year for NFL teams, marking the start of free agency and the new league year. Major questions arise for all 32 clubs – which players to keep, and who to let walk and test the open waters?
Nate Davis of USA TODAY Sports recently took a look at all the soon-to-be free agents and ranked his top 20 unsigned players heading into the 2020 season.
“Stats have never accurately illustrated his value,” writes Davis. “Clowney had just three sacks in 2019 for the Seahawks and has never exceeded double digits. But he’s an every-down player who’s scheme-diverse and almost always commands a double team.
Will the Seattle Seahawks finally move on from Germain Ifedi at right tackle during free agency or will he be back in 2020?
The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the 2020 offseason with 19 players set to become unrestricted free agents, which should make for another busy spring and summer for Pete Carroll and John Schneider as they look to shore up the roster and contend for the number one seed in the NFC next year.
Prior to last season, the Seahawks declined to pick up the fifth-year option on right tackle Germain Ifedi, allowing him to test free agency this year instead of re-signing him for roughly $10 million in 2020.
That lays out a rough framework of where the Seahawks value Ifedi, one of the most polarizing players on the team the past few years.
However, there is a league-wide dearth of talent at offensive tackle, and it doesn’t seem outrageous to expect another team to offer Ifedi a contract in the $10 million range annually, especially after he showed improvement across the board in 2019.
Seattle could still look to bring him back as well, with limited options to replace him now that Jamarco Jones has transitioned to guard and George Fant is set to hit free agency.
Ifedi isn’t very many fans’ favorite player, but there’s a decent chance he’s back in the blue and green in 2020.
