Quick Read: Upcoming Important NFL Dates

Information pulled from: NFL Operations

The new league year is just around the corner, so I wanted to make it a point to share some important dates over the next few months and what they mean. When I was first becoming a fan these were foreign to me, and would have benefitted from knowing them.

March 9 12:00PM - March 11 3:59PM - Legal Tampering Period: The name of this time always cracks me up, as tampering is against the rules in the NFL. This is a time where the NFL and NFLPA have agreed, ahead of the new league year, to allow teams to contact players who are under expiring contracts in an attempt to come to contract terms that will begin at the start of the new league year.

March 11 4:00 PM - The New League Year Begins: All teams are required to be under the salary cap. 2026 contracts begin.

April 17 - Restricted Free Agent Offer Sheet Deadline: Restricted Free Agents can be provided offers by other teams than they were under contract with, and the team they were with previously has an option to match those offers (think Brock Wright and the 49ers recently). This is the deadline for those offer sheets to be signed.

April 23-25 - The 2026 NFL Draft!

A lot of excitement will come during the legal tampering period and the beginning of the new league year. One item to remember is that even if the Lions don’t land a free agent in this period (I do expect they will) they still can sign free agents for the rest of the season. This is just a time of a lot of activity for top free agents.