Unrestricted VS. Restricted Free Agents - 2025 NFL Free Agency Series For Fantasy Football

The Philadelphia Eagles have stopped the Kansas City Chiefs from becoming the first team to ever three-peat as Super Bowl champions. It turned out, much to the chagrin of Giants fans, myself included, that Saquon Barkley was the missing piece to their championship. But just like A.J. Brown has done, it is time to start looking ahead to 2025 and who will be crowned the next Super Bowl champions of the National Football League. That journey begins on March 12 with the start of the official league year and the beginning of free agency. The concept of free agency is rather simple: unsigned players can sign with new teams for more money. Players get paid for their performance, and teams can improve by adding talent to the depleted positions on their roster. However, the process of free agency is intricate and quite complex, but fear not, I am here to break it all down for you in my Free Agency series that covers the difference between franchise tagged and transition tagged players, unrestricted and restricted free agents, and the Legal Tampering Period.

Players become free agents for a variety of different reasons. Some players’ contracts are expiring, some players are cut from their teams, and some players can only be signed to contracts with new teams under certain conditions. Furthermore, there are two designations of free agents: restricted and unrestricted free agents. Perhaps the most complex aspect of free agency is the variety of ways that teams can protect themselves from losing a valuable player. Teams can apply the franchise tag or transition tag and a first, second, or Right-Of-First-Refusal tender, depending on their free-agent status. Now, let's dive in so you can follow along when free agency kicks off and breaking news starts dropping every hour. It is one of the best times of the year, and I can’t wait to see the madness that ensues.

In this article of the Free Agency series, let’s discuss unrestricted vs. restricted free agents. An unrestricted free agents is just as it sounds, the player can sign with another team for more money. The player has all the leverage. A restricted free agent is much different and far more complex as the player's original team holds all the power. Let's dive in!

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Unrestricted Free Agents

When it comes to free agents, there are two classifications, restricted (RFA) and unrestricted free agents (UFA). An unrestricted free agent is as simple as it sounds, the player is not under contract and is free to sign with any team under any terms. The original team has no leverage and can only make a competitive offer and hope that the player chooses to stay.

However, while UFAs hold all of the cards, before the player becomes an unrestricted free agent, teams can choose to apply the franchise tag or transition tag to protect against losing a star player or to ensure that they are fairly compensated if they do. Read all about the franchise and transition tags in the first article of this Free Agency series here.

A player becomes an unrestricted free agent by one of three ways. First, the player is released from his team and is not subject to waivers. A player is not subject to waivers if that player has four accrued seasons (on the active 53-man roster, reserve/injured, or reserve/physically unable to perform lists for at least six regular-season games) in the NFL.

Second, the player has at least four accrued seasons, was under contract, and the contract has fully expired. Last, the player was not drafted in the NFL Draft.

The first option has played out with the New York Jets and wide receiver Davante Adams. The Jets previously announced that they are moving on from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and in doing so, they just released Davante Adams in a correlated move. Since Adams has more than four accrued seasons, he is now instantly an unrestricted free agent and free to sign with any team.

Jets release WR Davante Adams. (via @rapsheet, @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/yxdEK4uyuj

— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2025

The second option has played out with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold’s contract expires at the start of the new league year on March 12, 2025, and the team has announced that it will not use the franchise or transition tag on him. As such, Darnold will become a UFA when the new league year starts, but unlike Adams, he cannot negotiate with other teams until the legal tampering period starts on March 10, 2025, at 12:00 PM.

The #Vikings are not expected to franchise tag QB Sam Darnold by Tuesday’s deadline, per me and @TomPelissero. But all parties are working through options to potentially keep him in Minnesota.

Darnold, who is set to hit free agency, has a situation best described as fluid. pic.twitter.com/q3A8iGkYEQ

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 4, 2025

Unlike last year, this upcoming free agency class is relatively weak, but some of the other popular fantasy relevant UFAs that are eligible to negotiate and sign with a new team at the start of the legal tampering period on March 10 include but are not limited to: Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Justin Fields at quarterback; Chris Godwin and Amari Cooper at wide receiver; Aaron Jones, J.K. Dobbins, and Najee Harris at running back; and Mike Gesicki and Juwan Johnson at tight end. I told you it wasn’t pretty.

Restricted Free Agents

Now, here is where it gets really good. Restricted free agents are much more complex than unrestricted free agents. RFAs have restrictions on the terms under which they can sign with their original team or negotiate a contract with other teams.

A player is classified as an RFA when he has three accrued seasons in the NFL and his contract is about to expire. This becomes complicated when you have drafted rookies, normally signed to a four-year contract (fifth-year option on first-round rookies), who sit out the year on the non-football injury list or due to a suspension.

These designations allow the teams to keep these players under contract while also removing them from the active 53-man roster. In other words, these players do not have an accrued season and are extremely likely to become restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents down the road.

Tenders

RFAs can negotiate a long-term deal with their current team, play under a one-year contract with their current team for a salary that is predetermined by the league (tenders), or negotiate with other teams for a long-term deal subject to certain protections held by the players' current team.

In order to protect themselves from losing a valuable player with three accrued seasons, the current team must assign a “tender” to the restricted free agent of either a first-round, second-round, or a Right of First Refusal tender. The tender allows the player to negotiate with other teams but protects the original team by giving it what is called a Right of First Refusal. If another team reaches an agreement with the tendered player, they must sign that player to an offer sheet that lays out the full terms of the proposed contract.

The Right of First Refusal means that the original team has the right to match any offer made to the tendered player. If the team matches the offer, then it creates a contract with the tendered player. If the team does not match the offer, then a contract is created with the new team and the original team receives a draft pick from the new team, which parallels the tender that was assigned to the player as compensation for losing that player.

For example, Player A is given a first-round tender. Therefore, a new team who wishes to sign Player A must give up its first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft to the original team in order to sign him if the original team fails to match the offer sheet.

The same goes for a second-round tender. However, the Right of First Refusal tender is a tender without any compensation if the player signs with a new team. The team still gets the Right of First Refusal to match the offer sheet, but it receives zero compensation if they do not.

So why wouldn’t every team place a first-round tender on all of their restricted free agents? The answer is simple: money. The tender chosen also determines the salary for that player if a long-term agreement is not reached and could be the difference between a team getting under the salary cap. A first-round tender is obviously the costliest to a team.

Here are projections for restricted free-agent salaries for 2025, according to Over the Cap:

First Rounder: $7,458,000

Second Rounder: $5,346,000

Right of First Refusal: $3,263,000

NOTE: A player with less than three accrued seasons and an expiring contract is an exclusive rights free agent. These players must play under a one-year contract at the league minimum if their team makes them an offer. They do not have the right to negotiate with other teams unless their original team fails to offer them a contract.

Some noteworthy (term used loosely) RFAs at the start of the new league year include but are not limited to Desmond Ridder at quarterback, KaVontae Turpin and Greg Dortch at wide receiver, and Jaylen Warren and Jordan Mason at running back. There are no notable tight ends unless you want to consider Stone Smartt to be notable because of his name.

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