NFL Free Agency Primer '07-'08

Overview of the NFL's Free Agency

It's that time again in the NFL-Free Agency! For various reasons each year, most NFL teams, for better or for worse, seek to sign players available to them from the free agent pool of players. Following is an NFL Free Agency Primer to help cover the basics of the '07-'08 NFL Free Agency.

What is Free Agency?
Essentially, free agency is a pool of free agent

 players. It's the market where free agents find themselves after their contract expires.

What is a Free Agent?
A free agent is a player whose contract has expired with the team he was playing with, and is therefore able to sign with another, or the same, team in the free agency market.

When can players start being signed from the '07-'08 free agency market?
Beginning at 12:01 AM ET, Friday, February 29, players can start putting their John Hancock on the dotted lines of a new contract whether it is with a new team or the same team.

Does the free agency signing period have an end date?
Yes, the '07-'08 free agency signing period ends on April 18 this year for restricted free agents; July 22 or the first scheduled day for the first NFL training camp(whichever is later) for unrestricted free agents; and for franchise players the first Tuesday after the 10th week of the season, or November 11th.

Who are "restricted" free agents?
A player is a restricted free agent after he has completed three accrued seasons in the NFL and his contract expires. Also, to be considered a restricted free agent, a player has to have received a "qualifying" offer from the NFL team he had been with prior to going onto the free agency market. (A qualifying offer is a salary level predetermined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL League and the NFL Players Association.)