An accrued season is the NFL’s unit of service time for free agency: a player earns one by spending at least six regular-season games on a club’s active roster, injured reserve, or PUP list. Accrue three and you’re a restricted free agent when your deal ends; accrue four and you’re unrestricted – and a vested veteran with waiver exemptions on top.
The league actually runs two service-time ledgers, and confusing them is the most common mistake in contract talk. A credited season – just three games on full-pay status – drives minimum salaries, pensions, and benefits. The accrued season, with its higher six-game bar, drives only one thing: when a player reaches the open market. A rookie who plays four games earns a credited season for pay purposes but no accrued season, leaving his free-agency clock frozen.
The chart below lays out both ledgers, the free-agency thresholds, and exactly which roster designations count. Take a look, then we’ll cover how teams and agents play the clock.
NFL CONTRACTS
What Is an Accrued Season in the NFL?
Six games on the right list – the clock that decides free agency
ACCRUED
6+ games
Active roster, IR or PUP
CREDITED
3 games
Full-pay status
RFA
3 accrued
Restricted free agency
UFA
4+
Unrestricted + vested
The two ledgers
The NFL tracks service time twice – and they control different things
| Ledger |
Requirement and what it controls |
| Accrued season |
6 or more regular-season games on the active/inactive (53-man) roster, injured reserve, or PUP list. Controls FREE AGENCY: when a player can hit the market and on what terms |
| Credited season |
3 or more regular-season games on full-pay status (active, IR, or PUP with pay). Controls MONEY AND BENEFITS: minimum-salary tier, pension credit, annuity, severance and termination-pay eligibility |
| Why two systems |
Free agency is a bargaining chip; benefits are earned welfare. The CBA sets a higher bar (6 games) for the market clock than for the benefits clock (3 games) |
| The same player differs |
A player can log a credited season without accruing one – 4 games played means benefits credit but no free-agency progress |
The free agency thresholds
What each accrued total unlocks in 2026
| Accrued seasons |
Free agency status when the contract expires |
| 0-2 |
Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA): a minimum tender leaves the player no choice but to sign or sit |
| 3 |
Restricted Free Agent (RFA): the club tenders a qualifying offer and can match outside offer sheets or collect draft-pick compensation |
| 4 or more |
Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA): free to sign anywhere when the league year opens in March |
| 4 (bonus effect) |
The player is also a vested veteran – exempt from waivers when released before the trade deadline, with termination-pay rights |
What counts and what doesn’t
Where the six games can come from
| Roster status |
Accrues? |
| Active 53-man roster (including inactive on game day) |
Yes |
| Injured reserve |
Yes |
| Physically Unable to Perform (PUP), in-season |
Yes |
| Practice squad |
No – even 18 elevations never accrue |
| Non-Football Injury (NFI) list |
Generally no |
| Suspension |
No – and unexcused holdouts can void an accrued season entirely under the 2020 CBA |
ACCRUED SEASON FACTS
The six-game stash
Teams have parked late-season call-ups just under six games to slow the free-agency clock – agents count roster days as carefully as targets.
Practice squad purgatory
A player can spend three full years on practice squads, earn real money, and still have zero accrued seasons – the market clock never started.
The holdout hammer
The 2020 CBA made holdouts brutal: skip camp without excuse and the club can deny that year’s accrual, pushing free agency back a full season.
Playing the Clock
Because six games is a hard line, both sides game it. Clubs signing street free agents in December know a five-game stint keeps the player an exclusive-rights or restricted free agent an extra year – cheap control is one roster transaction away. Agents push for earlier call-ups and count IR stints (which accrue) against practice-squad time (which never does) when weighing offers. And the 2020 CBA handed clubs a stick: an unexcused training-camp holdout can void the season’s accrual entirely, which is why modern holdouts became “hold-ins” – players report, attend meetings, and simply don’t practice, protecting the clock while applying pressure.
The Bottom Line
An accrued season is six-plus regular-season games on the active roster, IR, or PUP – the NFL’s free-agency clock, separate from the three-game credited season that drives pay and benefits. Three accrued seasons make a player restricted, four make him unrestricted and vested, and practice-squad time never counts. It’s the quiet math under every December signing. For what happens when players without vested status get cut, see how NFL waiver claims work, and for the squad that doesn’t accrue, practice squad salaries.
