All 2013 NFL player contracts expire this Tuesday at 4pm EST. That is the official start of the free agency signing frenzy. The unofficial start of free agency may or may not have been at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The unofficial start of free agency officially starts today with a three-day window for teams to legally tamper with the soon-to-be free agents of other teams. The NFL implemented this window of tampering last year and they are keeping it alive this year.
During this three-day window, teams can contact the agents for players but not the players themselves. Players without agents can not negotiate with teams. That means you, Jon Beason. This window of tampering applies to unrestricted free agents only. Not restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents. Teams can set and negotiate parameters of a deal, but they can not actually execute the contract until free agency officially begins Tuesday at 4pm EST. So, free agency, in some ways, starts today.
The NFL initiated this tampering period because of the fairly large number of contracts that were miraculously negotiated and agreed to moments after the start of free agency. It was clear that something fishy was taking place. Now, that "fishy stuff" takes place within the rules of the NFL. It's still a joke. Teams and agents have been talking since everyone was together in Indianapolis. It's nearly impossible to police these conversations. Most agents represent players on every team team in the league. They can be seen talking to a general manager or coach for legitimate reasons and just slip into a conversation about a player that he represents from another team. Oops! Teams and, most certainly, the agents have no reason to curb this behavior. So, all the NFL is really doing is saying that we know this "fishy stuff" is going on so we're going to control it, just a little bit.
Free agency starts Tuesday but it kinda starts today.
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