Restricted vs unrestricted free agency in the NFL never starts with a hype video. In that moment, the room opens a depth chart, a cap ledger, and a list of contracts that expire in weeks. Coffee turns stale. Phones buzz. Hours later, an agent asks the question that decides if the player can shop. Did he earn the accrued seasons that unlock the market, or did he only live through those seasons on a calendar?
Restricted vs unrestricted free agency in the NFL feels like it should reward performance. However, the system rewards service credit first, and the rulebook keeps score with definitions that do not care about a breakout game. A player can spend five years in the league and still fall short of four accrued seasons after injuries, practice squad time, or a nonfootball designation. Consequently, he can arrive at the 2026 offseason thinking he reached true choice while the paperwork says he still needs permission.
Fans talk about year three and year four like a rite. Yet still, the league counts accrued seasons, not calendar years, and that one detail shapes who gets tendered, who gets matched, and who hits Unrestricted Free Agency in 2026.
The service time math that decides who gets to choose
Freedom in the NFL starts with a technicality. At the time, the Collective Bargaining Agreement defines an accrued season as at least six regular season games on, or treated as on, full pay status. The CBA also draws hard exclusions: time on a club practice squad does not count toward an accrued season. It also excludes time on the Exempt Commissioner Permission List, plus time on the Reserve PUP list when the player landed there because of a nonfootball injury.
Another free agency glossary entry adds a second wrinkle: a player can lose accrued season credit if he misses mandatory reporting dates or holds out for a material period of time.
Those clauses fix a common myth. Practice squad time can develop a player and pay him. However, practice squad games do not build accrued seasons toward free agency. On the other hand, many active roster and reserve list games do count, even when a player never suits up on Sunday.
Now the thresholds can stay clean. Players with four or more accrued seasons become unrestricted free agents when their contracts expire. With exactly three accrued seasons, a player reaches restricted free agency when his contract expires. Fewer than three accrued seasons can trigger exclusive rights free agency if the club offers the required minimum tender.
Restricted vs unrestricted free agency in the NFL uses the same structure every year. Yet still, the financial thresholds move with the salary cap, so the 2026 label must describe price changes, not rule changes.
The tender menu that turns a market into a match right
Restricted free agency sounds like open shopping. However, the tender system turns it into a controlled market with a match right.
A club can keep a restricted player by issuing a qualifying offer called a tender. That tender sets a one year salary and gives the club the right to match any offer sheet the player signs elsewhere. Draft compensation can also attach, depending on the tender level.
Over the Cap projections for 2026 restricted free agent tenders list these amounts, subject to the official 2026 salary cap.
First round tender: 7,893,000 dollars. Second round tender: 5,658,000 dollars. Right of first refusal tender: 3,453,000 dollars.
The league’s tender rules also include a key multiplier. Each tender pays the greater of the league set amount or 110 percent of the player’s prior year base salary. Consequently, a player who already earned real cash can push a 2026 tender above the baseline figure.
The system also gives teams a clean switch. A club can withdraw the tender and immediately turn the restricted player into an unrestricted free agent. Yet still, most clubs keep the tender in place because it preserves control at a predictable cap number.
The offer sheet that rarely happens, and why it still scares teams
Offer sheets remain rare. Consequently, every successful one becomes a league wide lesson.
In March 2025, linebacker Christian Elliss signed an offer sheet with the Raiders, then watched the Patriots decide whether to match. The reported figure forced a public decision and changed the conversation from depth linebacker to leverage.
A running back case showed the deterrent effect. The Steelers used a second round tender on Jaylen Warren in March 2025, a move designed to attach draft pick compensation and discourage outside bidders. Because of this loss of simplicity, fans assume the market decides every price. However, draft compensation often blocks the market before it starts.
Those stories sit in 2025. Yet still, the 2026 offseason will use the same definitions, the same match rights, and the same incentives. Only the salary thresholds move.
The three questions teams answer before they spend
Every March meeting reduces chaos into levers. Across the table, executives ask the same three questions in every building.
First, did the player earn the accrued seasons the public assumes he earned. Second, if he qualifies as restricted, which tender level fits his role and the club’s risk tolerance. Third, if he qualifies as unrestricted, what does the market look like after one deal resets the room.
Those answers shape extensions, not just tenders. Suddenly, a club that planned well can extend a priority starter before he reaches restricted status. On the other hand, a club that delayed can face an offer sheet threat and a locker room that notices.
The ten sections below work like rungs, not a power ranking. Yet still, the countdown format keeps the path clear, from eligibility math at ten to open market freedom at one.
The leverage ladder for 2026
10. The calendar lie hiding inside the term accrued seasons
Fans count years in the league. However, the league counts accrued seasons, and the two clocks do not always match.
A player can enter the NFL in 2022, spend time on a practice squad, and reach 2026 with fewer than three accrued seasons. Consequently, he might not qualify as a restricted free agent at all, even if he feels like a veteran. Practice squad games never enter the accrued season count.
That misunderstanding shapes how fans talk about loyalty. Yet still, paperwork beats narrative every spring.
9. The practice squad exclusion that quietly delays a payday
Practice squad life feels like the league. However, the CBA treats practice squad games as zero credit for accrued seasons.
The accrued season count excludes any games for which a player sat on a club practice squad. At the time, that clause can turn a full year of meetings, lifts, and travel into a year that does not move a player closer to restricted or unrestricted status.
Agents plan around that reality. Consequently, a late season elevation can matter as much as a stat line, because it can push the player toward the six game threshold.
The cultural legacy shows up in player choices. Yet still, some young players chase active roster time even when it means fewer snaps, because service credit buys future leverage.
8. The six game threshold that turns September into negotiation leverage
An accrued season requires six regular season games on full pay status. Yet still, that requirement turns early season roster decisions into contract pressure.
Glossaries and team guidance also make a harsh point: a material holdout or missed reporting obligations can cost service credit. Consequently, a dispute can shift from cash into timeline, because lost credit can delay open market access by a full year.
Coaches hate that math. However, players live with it, because their freedom clock starts in September, not in March.
7. The three accrued season gate that creates restricted free agency
Restricted free agency begins when a player hits exactly three accrued seasons and his contract expires. Consequently, he can negotiate with other clubs, but his original club can control the finish through a tender and a match right.
That dynamic explains why many RFAs never move. Yet still, the player experiences a half freedom, because he can talk, but he cannot close without the original club’s decision.
Leverage also cuts the other way. However, a club that misreads the market can lose control if it declines to tender, then watches the player reach unrestricted status immediately.
6. The tender cost that matters even before a rival calls
Tenders do not only block other teams. In that moment, the tender also occupies cap room the club could use elsewhere.
A right of first refusal tender in 2026 projects at 3,453,000 dollars. That number might sound modest in a league with massive deals. However, it can still pinch a roster when a club lacks NFL salary cap space.
The cultural note feels personal. Yet still, a low tender can land as a vote of limited trust, especially when the player believes he played above his role.
Front offices treat it as inventory control. Consequently, the same club might run contract restructures on veterans to create room, then tender a young starter to avoid losing him.
5. The right of first refusal tender that keeps control cheap
The lowest tender level remains the most common tool. The 2026 right of first refusal tender projects at 3,453,000 dollars, subject to the official cap.
That tender gives the original club the right to match any offer sheet. However, it offers no draft compensation if the club chooses not to match. Consequently, outside teams can test the player’s market without surrendering a pick, even if they expect the original club to match.
Players read the number as a message. Yet still, it also signals the club believes it can keep him without paying a premium.
4. The second round tender that turns interest into hesitation
A second round tender raises the salary and adds a pick penalty to any poaching attempt. The 2026 second round tender projects at 5,658,000 dollars, subject to the official cap.
That tender does more than pay the player. It tells other clubs they must value him like a pick plus a contract, not just a contract. Consequently, many teams decline to engage, because they hate paying cash and surrendering a second round pick for a player the original club might match anyway.
The cultural legacy stays quiet but real. However, players learn that leverage does not always come from production, because structure can smother the market.
3. The first round tender that dares the league to pay twice
The top tender exists for a specific class of players. The 2026 first round tender projects at 7,893,000 dollars, subject to the official cap.
That number usually fits premium positions and high impact starters. Consequently, outside clubs hesitate because the move can require cash, scheme certainty, and first round pick compensation if the original club walks away.
Teams also use the number as a line in extension talks. Yet still, a player can view it as both a compliment and a constraint, because it pays well but keeps the relationship on a one year fuse.
2. The 110 percent rule that quietly bumps tenders above the headline number
Tender talk starts with baselines. However, the tender rule includes a quiet pressure valve: each tender pays the greater of the baseline or 110 percent of the player’s prior year base salary.
That clause matters for players who already earned strong base cash. Consequently, a tender can rise above the projected 2026 figures for certain players, and that can surprise fans who only read the baseline.
Contract structure drives the effect. Yet still, teams that want future tender flexibility may avoid inflated base salaries and shift money through signing bonus proration instead.
1. The open market reset that only unrestricted status can deliver
Restricted status limits movement. However, unrestricted status can reset the entire price of a position group in a single week.
A top deal sets a new bar, then agents use it as precedent. Consequently, clubs that operate near the ceiling pivot toward draft and develop plans, while contenders chase immediate upgrades.
That is why teams obsess over the four accrued season gate. Yet still, the best front offices try to avoid the gate by extending their own talent early, even when it costs more now.
The 2026 view that should change how you hear the phrase free agency
The 2026 offseason will not reinvent the definitions. However, the projected 2026 tender amounts will change the pressure points, especially for clubs that already live close to the cap.
A team that wants control can tender a restricted player and trust its match right. Yet still, the club must carry the tender as a real cap commitment. Consequently, the 2026 baselines rise to 3,453,000 dollars for right of first refusal, 5,658,000 dollars for a second round tender, and 7,893,000 dollars for a first round tender.
Players plan around the same math. Consequently, a young starter who sits at two accrued seasons may push for active roster credit in September, because the next spring could decide his path. Agents also frame extension talks around the gates, because a club might pay more now to avoid losing the player later.
The system creates a lingering tension. Fans say a player “earned” the market. However, the league only grants the market when the service credit lines up.
So the last question hangs over every 2026 roster decision. How many players will enter March believing they are free, only to learn they are still one accrued season short?
READ ALSO:
NFL Cap Space Tracker 2026: Chargers Lead the Race
FAQs
Q1: What is the difference between restricted and unrestricted free agency in the NFL? Restricted free agency comes after three accrued seasons and includes tenders and match rights. Unrestricted free agency starts after four accrued seasons.
Q2: How many games do players need for an accrued season? Players earn an accrued season when they spend at least six regular season games on full pay status.
Q3: Does practice squad time count toward accrued seasons? No. Practice squad time does not count toward an accrued season, even if the player spends the whole year in the building.
Q4: What does a right of first refusal tender do? It lets the original team match any offer sheet. If the team declines to match, it usually gets no draft pick compensation.
Q5: Can a team withdraw a tender and make a player unrestricted? Yes. A team can pull the tender, and the player can hit the market without the match right.
I’m a sports and pop culture junkie who loves the buzz of a big match and the comfort of a great story on screen. When I’m not chasing highlights and hot takes, I’m planning the next trip, hunting for underrated films or debating the best clutch moments with anyone who will listen.
