Welcome to the nebulous “legal tampering” period of the NFL calendar. While “legal” and “tampering” are an oxymoron, that is what is allowed during this time, when players are still technically under contract with a team but agents are allowed to start talking to other teams about contracts for next year. What exactly is allowed during this period and when does it end? We have all the information you need to get through what should be a period of rumors, reports, and agreements. Legal tampering period start and end The period will run from noon today until the official start of free agent at 4pm ET on Wednesday. What is the legal tampering period? Officially described by the NFL as a period when, “Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2018 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 13,” the legal tampering period - not an official name and you will hear it called the “negotiating window” and “negotiating period” as well - is simply a time when teams and agents can start talking about a contract. Which free agents? Players who will become unrestricted free agents at 4pm ET on Wednesday are allowed to have their agents talk to teams. The unrestricted part is important, as restricted free agents cannot start negotiations on offer sheets until March 13. Rules There are rules to the legal tampering period. Players may not visit or talk to teams. Period. There are no phone calls being made to players by teams. Only team representatives and agents are allowed to talk. And talk is all that is allowed to happen. Numbers can be passed back and forth and a verbal agreement can be unofficially made, but nothing official can be agreed to, announced, or signed until 4pm ET on March 13. Think back to the Miami Dolphins agreement with Ndamukong Suh and how there was speculation that the team had done something wrong. The framework of a deal can be in place, but the specifics and the contract cannot be completed until free agency begins. You will hear reports of agreements, but those deals usually get dragged out a few hours or days in order to make sure there is no appearance of impropriety. Also, a weird situation is if a player represents himself. He still cannot talk to a team, so he will not be contacted during the legal tampering period. Finally, travel arrangements for visits cannot be made during the period. So, an agent and a team cannot buy tickets to have a player visit the team facilities as soon as free agency begins. Now, if a player happens to be traveling to that city and is there on Wednesday, that is just a coincidence, right? Re-signings Teams are still allowed to re-sign their own soon-to-be free agents during this period. Some teams use this period as a chance to gauge the market and demand for a player, then re-sign him to a sensible contract, rather than take a chance that they will be overpaying for the player or bidding against themselves. It is risky because there could be higher demand or the player could see it as an insult that the team did not just re-sign him initially, but it is a possibility. Trades Teams can work out trades during this period as well, and some do formulate during the legal tampering period, but they will not become official until 4pm ET March 13. Dolphins free agents Unrestricted free agents Danny Amendola , wide receiver (released) - Signed with Detroit Lions , wide receiver (released) - Signed with Detroit Lions Stephone Anthony , linebacker , linebacker Brandon Bolden , running back , running back Andre Branch , defensive end (released) , defensive end (released) A.J. Derby , tight end , tight end David Fales , quarterback , quarterback Frank Gore , running back , running back MarQueis Gray , tight end , tight end William Hayes , defensive end , defensive end Ziggy Hood , defensive tackle , defensive tackle Ja’Wuan James, tackle Wesley Johnson , center , center Ted Larsen , guard (released) , guard (released) Brock Osweiler , quarterback , quarterback Senorise Perry , running back , running back Travis Swanson , center , center Cameron Wake , defensive end , defensive end Sylvester Williams , defensive tackle , defensive tackle Sam Young , tackle Restricted Free Agents Isaac Asiata , guard - Tendered , guard - Tendered Jake Brendel , center , center Leonte Carroo , wide receiver , wide receiver Jesse Davis , guard - Tendered , guard - Tendered Mike Hull , linebacker , linebacker Zach Sterup , tackle - Tendered , tackle - Tendered Jonathan Woodard , defensive end - Tendered Re-signed players<doc-sep>The unofficial start of 2019 NFL free agency begins today, Monday, March 11 at 12:00 PM Eastern. In an (unsuccessful) attempt to curb all the illegal tampering that goes on before free agency, the NFL has decided to designate a window for legal tampering for the seventh year in a row. Actual NFL free agency does not officially begin until Wednesday, March 13 at 4:00 PM ET, but a “negotiating period” or “legal tampering period” as it’s come to be known begins today at noon. Here are the important things to know regarding this 2-day negotiating window: • Agents can negotiate numbers, but not actually officially sign a deal (See: Frank Gore) • Teams can talk to agents, not directly with players • Players can’t visit teams (except their own) • Only applies to unrestricted free agents, not restricted free agents or exclusive-rights free agents • Starts today at 12:00 PM ET and ends when the new league year officially starts on Wednesday at 4:00 PM ET The following Philadelphia Eagles players can begin negotiating with other teams (through their representation) at noon today since they’re set to be unrestricted free agents: Nick Foles Ronald Darby Jordan Hicks Jay Ajayi Golden Tate Haloti Ngata Chance Warmack Mike Wallace Corey Graham Darren Sproles Richard Rodgers Jordan Matthews LaRoy Reynolds D.J. Alexander The Eagles can also begin negotiating with free agents starting at noon. Here’s a handy list of 52 players with connections to Philly. Use this open thread to discuss any rumors or reports that pop up today. BGN will have the biggest stories covered here at the site, as always. LIVE TWITTER FEED (Note: if the Twitter feed isn’t showing up for you, click here.)<doc-sep>NFL Free Agency begins officially on Wednesday, March 13, but the legal tampering period opens up two days prior. Many of the top free agents end up agreeing to deals in the 48 hours leading up to the beginning of free agency. Today, we’re going to provide you with a free agency primer to see who the top free agents are and which teams might be going after them. For the Denver Broncos, they could be looking at top free agents at the cornerback, safety, inside linebacker, and both offensive and defensive line positions. But first, let’s review what the legal tampering period is and what teams can do during the next two days. What is the legal tampering period? Teams can officially negotiate with free agents up tot 48 hours prior to free agency officially opening up. In the past, teams have tried to skirt the rules with multiple top free agents apparently agreeing to deals well before the legal tampering period began. That hasn’t been the case, so far, this year. Some of the rules to be aware of were broken down nicely by Rams Wire in 2018: • March 11 to March 13 at 4 p.m. ET • It applies to unrestricted free agents only. Teams cannot talk to restricted free agents during this two-day period. • Teams can negotiate “all aspects of an NFL player contract” until March 13, but not directly with the player. This means that teams can only negotiate with agents. • If a player acts as his own agent, he cannot talk to other teams. • Players cannot visit teams besides their own during this period. • Violations of these rules can result in fines or a loss of draft picks. This video from SB Nation in 2015 was just too good to not share. Four years later, football definitely has more dumb rules and is definitely more popular than ever.<doc-sep>On Wednesday, the 2019 NFL league year officially begins. As has been the case every season since 2013, the start of the new year and free agency are preceded by the so-called “legal tampering period.” But what is it exactly? And how does legal tampering impact the New England Patriots and the league as a whole? Let’s dig into the matter to find out. What is the legal tampering window? In 2013, the NFL wanted to crack down on pre-free agency tampering by clubs via the introduction of the legal tampering period — a three day window during which all pending unrestricted free agents are allowed to enter preliminary negotiations with the other organizations in the league, not just the ones that still hold their rights until the start of free agency on March 13, 4:00 p.m. ET. The window opens today at 12:00 p.m. ET and closes again when free agency and the new NFL league year start. What does legal tampering mean for the NFL? Per a league office memo sent to the clubs in March 2013, teams can enter talks with upcoming free agents within the window but are only allowed to outline the parameters of a potential contract and not make any official offers or host any player visits. Contracts agreed upon during the legal tampering period can not be officially signed until Wednesday, when free agency begins. That is also when trades — like the one for new Patriots defender Michael Bennett — can be made official and every club needs to be under the $188.2 million salary cap with its combined top-51 contracts. What does legal tampering mean for the Patriots? With the Patriots not using the franchise tag to keep one of their unrestricted free agents from hitting the open market, the following 17 members of their 2018 championship roster are set to become available on Wednesday. They are thus also subject to the legal tampering period, which means that today is the first day they can start negotiating with clubs other than New England: P Ryan Allen: Profile DT Malcom Brown: Profile OT Trent Brown: Profile WR Phillip Dorsett: Profile DE Trey Flowers: Profile K Stephen Gostkowski: Profile RB Jeremy Hill: Profile WR Chris Hogan: Profile LB Ramon Humber: Profile OT Ulrick John: Profile LB Albert McClellan: Profile CB Jason McCourty: Profile WR Cordarrelle Patterson: Profile CB Eric Rowe: Profile DT Danny Shelton: Profile DE John Simon: Profile OT LaAdrian Waddle: Profile On offense, starting left tackle Trent Brown will hit the open market as will a substantial part of the team’s 2018 wide receiver group: Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson all will see their contracts expire in a few days. Furthermore, top backup tackle LaAdrian Waddle is set to hit free agency for the second year in a row, while week one’s starting running back Jeremy Hill will do the same coming off a torn ACL. Defensively, the biggest name is undoubtably Trey Flowers: the star pass rusher is one of the top players to hit free agency this year and will be a highly coveted option — especially with four other edge defenders getting franchise-tagged by their respective clubs. Other than him, the Patriots will see starting cornerback Jason McCourty and rotational defensive linemen Malcom Brown, Danny Shelton and John Simon become free agents. The special teams unit, meanwhile, will also have some of its core members up for new contracts: kicker Stephen Gostkowski and punter Ryan Allen are prime candidates to get re-signed, as are coverage players Albert McClellan and Ramon Humber. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Patterson and Hogan are also core members of New England’s kicking game operation. They and the rest of the Patriots’ free agency class will all get a feel for their potential market over the next three days — and as a result, negotiations with New England might intensify as well. What does legal tampering mean for non-unrestricted free agents? While unrestricted free agents like the 17 Patriots outlined above are allowed to enter early negotiations today, restricted and exclusive rights players are still only eligible to talk to the teams currently holding their rights. They can start meeting other teams after the Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. ET deadline if they did not get tendered until this date. New England has two players in this category: Restricted free agent CB Jonathan Jones: Profile Exclusive rights free agent WR Cody Hollister: Profile Jonathan Jones can be tendered at one of three levels, each including the right of first refusal. The Patriots can either use the first round tender worth $4.407 million, the $3.095 million second round tender or the $2.025 million original round tender. In case another team signs Jones to an offer sheet, the Patriots would then have five days to match or receive the draft pick appropriate for the tender as compensation. Cody Hollister, meanwhile, can only get a tender-sheet offer by the Patriots (hence the “exclusive” tag). If they do not tender him or Jones until Wednesday’s deadline, a trip to unrestricted free agency awaits.<doc-sep>
The 2019 NFL league year doesn’t start until March 13th at 3:00 p.m. CT, but teams can begin negotiations on March 11th at 11:00am CT. The NFL’s legal tampering period begins on Monday. The legal tampering period is essentially a two-day window, during which agents can begin communicating and negotiating with teams interested in their respective client. This happens ahead of the open of free agency, which is also on March 13th at 3:00pm CT. It plays a large part in where some big named free agents will end up. There’s a ton of different rules from the NFL surrounding what legal tampering entails. Here’s a look at the things you can do and what you can’t do. What you can do: Only applicable to unrestricted free agents, and not restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents. Negotiate “all aspects of an NFL player contract” with a players representation. What you can’t do: Teams cannot talk to restricted free agents during this two-day period. Teams can not negotiate directly with players, even if they act as their own representation. Contracts cannot be executed or agreed to in principal during the legal tampering window. Players cannot take team visits during this period or make travel arrangements for visits. Contract announcement cannot 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 these harsh consequences. The league came down hard on the Chiefs for tampering with free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The Chiefs have 15 players scheduled to become free agents on the 13th of March. Here’s a quick gallery list of those players: Gallery Full list of Kansas City Chiefs' 2019 free agents View 22 photos Following the signing of Carlos Hyde and the release of Justin Houston, the Chiefs have around $22.4 million in cap space according to Spotrac. They’re not expected to work to retain many of their own free agents, if any of them at all. Though Andy Reid left the door open for the return of Demetrius Harris during his press conference at the 2019 NFL combine. During the legal tampering period the Chiefs would be wise to do their diligence on a loaded class of secondary players. These are some of the best players available for the Chiefs in free agency. They also would be wise to take a look at a few different bridge options for as they’ll be pressed to replace players lost in free agency.