The difference between a restricted and an unrestricted NFL free agent is one accrued season – and it’s worth millions. A player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract expires is an unrestricted free agent (UFA), free to sign anywhere the moment the league year opens. A player with exactly three is a restricted free agent (RFA): he can shop around, but his club can tender him a qualifying offer that lets it match any deal he signs – and collect draft picks if it doesn’t.
Below three accrued seasons sits the least-known class, the exclusive-rights free agent (ERFA), whose minimum-salary tender ends the conversation entirely. The tender amounts reset every year with the cap; in 2026 they run from the $3.547 million right-of-first-refusal level up to the $8.107 million first-round tender.
The chart below covers all three classes, every 2026 tender level, and the deadlines. Take a look, then we’ll cover how clubs actually play the system.
NFL FREE AGENCY
Restricted vs. Unrestricted Free Agents
Three accrued seasons vs. four – and the tender system in between
UFA
4+ accrued
Fully free
RFA
3 accrued
Tendered and matchable
ERFA
0-2 accrued
Minimum tender, no choice
TOP TENDER
$8.107M
2026 first-round level
The three free agent classes
Accrued seasons decide everything
| Class |
What it means when the contract expires |
| Unrestricted (UFA): 4+ accrued seasons |
Free to negotiate and sign with any team when the league year opens – no strings, no compensation owed |
| Restricted (RFA): exactly 3 accrued seasons |
Can negotiate anywhere, but the original club can tender a qualifying offer carrying a right to match any offer sheet and, at higher tender levels, draft-pick compensation |
| Exclusive rights (ERFA): 0-2 accrued seasons |
A minimum-salary tender removes all leverage – the player signs it or sits; no other team may negotiate |
| If no tender is made |
An untendered RFA or ERFA becomes fully unrestricted – the recent trend, since minimum salaries often undercut tender prices |
2026 RFA tender levels
Official league figures; each pays the listed amount or 110% of prior base salary, whichever the player elects
| Tender |
2026 amount and compensation |
| First-round |
$8.107M – unmatched offer sheet costs the signing team a first-round pick |
| Second-round |
$5.811M – costs a second-round pick |
| Original-round |
$3.674M – costs a pick in the round the player was drafted |
| Right of first refusal |
$3.547M – the club can match any offer sheet but receives no compensation if it declines |
| Deadlines |
Tenders due before the league year opens (March 11, 4 PM ET in 2026); RFA offer sheets due April 17, with five days for the original club to match |
FREE AGENCY FACTS
Offer sheets are nearly extinct
Because a first-round tender prices an RFA raid at a first-round pick, signed offer sheets have become one of the NFL’s rarest transactions.
The tender is not guaranteed
A tendered RFA can be cut before the season or asked to take a pay cut – clubs often negotiate a smaller guaranteed deal in place of the larger non-guaranteed tender.
UDFAs live in this system
Undrafted players on three-year deals hit restricted (not unrestricted) free agency first – and can only draw the ROFR or first/second-round tenders, having no original round.
How Teams Play the Tenders
The tender decision is a price-of-control calculation. A club tenders at the level that matches its fear: original-round for depth pieces nobody will chase, second-round for solid starters, first-round for anyone another GM might covet – because at that price, the pursuing team pays twice, in salary and in a premium pick. The newer wrinkle is the non-tender: with the three-credited-season minimum salary at $1.145 million and the cheapest tender at $3.547 million, clubs increasingly withdraw the tender and re-sign the player for less, betting the open market won’t outbid them. It usually doesn’t – which is why RFA weekend produces more quiet re-signings than drama, and why the real free agency fireworks belong to the UFAs.
The Bottom Line
Four accrued seasons makes an NFL player unrestricted; exactly three makes him restricted and subject to the 2026 tender ladder of $3.547M to $8.107M with matching rights and draft-pick compensation; fewer leaves him exclusive-rights with no leverage at all. The service-time math behind it all is covered in our accrued season explainer, the tool teams use on stars who reach unrestricted status anyway is the franchise tag, and the fourth accrued season also confers vested veteran status with its waiver exemptions.
