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When Does 2026 NFL Free Agency Start?
The NFL offseason will kick into high gear next week when free agency gets underway.
The start of free agency will allow players with expiring contracts the opportunity to sign with different teams, signaling the start of a new year across the league. In the two days prior to free agency, teams are permitted to negotiate with players’ agents as part of the NFL’s legal tampering period.
As teams get ready for free agency to commence, here’s a look at when the legal tampering period and free agency begins.
When does free agency begin?
NFL free agency begins on March 11, 2026 at 4 p.m. ET, which coincides with the start of the new league year. On March 11, all contracts from 2025 expire and unrestricted free agents can officially sign with new teams.
The majority of the biggest names in free agency are expected to get signed in the first two of weeks of the new league year as teams move quickly to try and secure the best players available. Some signings, however, don’t take place until months after free agency begins, as was the case with Aaron Rodgers and Keenan Allen a year ago.
What is the legal tampering period?
The NFL’s legal tampering period allows teams to negotiate with the representatives of free agents before free agency begins. Teams cannot directly speak with players and contracts cannot be signed or finalized until the official start of free agency.
The only exceptions to these rules is a team can negotiate with a free agent on its own team or speak with players that have been released and are no longer under contract prior to the start of free agency.
The 2026 legal tampering period begins on March 9 at 12 p.m. ET.
Who are the top free agents?
A number of All-Pro and Pro Bowl players are set to hit the open market this year. Sports Illustrated ranked the top 50 free agents and projected their landing spots here.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.