It's also part of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players union. Even though the seniors are not in the union, all their provisions applies to them since joining the union is a condition of playing in the NFL.
Free Agents got their last paycheck during the month of their last game. Not one NFL player who's contract is up has received a paycheck in March. Only members of the Bucs and Chiefs got a paycheck in February. No one is getting paid unless they're under contract and that contract stipulates that they receive a check every month. If upcoming free agents are 'under contract' it's only the league that see those contracts as anything but toilet paper.
Guess all you like about whether they will give a correct answer or not. If they are under contract they are NOT a free agent. If their contract end date says some date in the future, whether tomorrow or March 17, they are under contract and not a free agent.
All under typical circumstances and normal conditions. 2021 ain't normal and 18 teams are trying to figure out how thay will pay their draft choices, let alone their players. Money in the NFL for free agents and some teams will be about as plentiful as pubic hair on a 7 year old girl.
It's not a gray area at all because it's clearly spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement. Nobody is a free agent unless they are not under contract with the lone exception of the two day negotiation period just before the contract expires. No doubt it's been a crazy year, but not with respect to free agency rules, unless new rules are adopted as a modification to the collective bargaining agreement, of which I know none.
I get it. So why don't players ask to be cut when they've played their last game and immediately become a free agent?? Or is that illegal??
Yeah, I get all that.
The Patriots have many times made "mercy cuts"
It's complicated and is truly a chess match. All things being equal, cutting a free agent ASAP would be good, but there's a lot more at play including more often a team wants to renegotiate with their own pending free agents while capitalizing on the vagueness of the entire market to help get a better deal. I know there are other bank shots at play here too like doing so gives ab advantage to all the other teams too, and who wants to give the competition any advantage.
True. BUT, In this year's market, there are teams that will not be able to sign their own player because their in cap hell. There are a hundred rumors about the Saints and the fact that may have to cut two defensive starter just to get to the cap. They've been redoing contracts since early February and they're still almost $30M over. There are a lot of players who just will not renegotiate a contract and feel that they can get a bigger one with the jets, Jags ior even the Patriots.
You rarely cut a player good enough to qualify for comp pick for that reason.
A player that is due to be an UFA, that is.
If they are NFG (No Fucking Good) they will not make a team or count towards comp picks anyway. Why wait.
Just because they can't sign them doesn't mean they would want to make it easier for another team to sign them. Heck in theory the could trade these guys. A team could trade for these guys to gain the exclusive negotiation period. Of course that would be very unlikely to happen... But I doubt any team is wanting to make things easier for other teams unless some how some value is returned.
