Important dates for the remainder of 2013 and for the 2014 calendar year, as released by the NFL.
All dates are subject to change.
Some highlights found in the below calendar:
• 2014 free agency starts on March 11.
• Offseason workouts for team with new coaches can commence on April 7; for teams with returning coaches, workouts can commence on April 21.
• Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets is May 2.
• Deadline for prior club to exercise right of first refusal to restricted free agents is May 7.
• Unlike past years when the NFL Draft is in late April, this year’s NFL Draft is May 8-10.
• Deadline for teams to sigh players designated as franchise to a multiyear contract is July 15.
• 2014 NFL Kickoff Weekend is Sept. 4, 7-8.
The calendar year as annotated in the NFL news release:
| Dec. 30 | Clubs may renegotiate or extend the rookie contract of a drafted rookie who was selected in the 2011 NFL Draft. Any permissible renegotiated or extended player contract will not be considered a rookie contract, and will not be subject to the rules that limit rookie contracts |
| Dec. 30 | Option exercise period begins for Fifth-Year Option for First-Round Selections from the 2011 NFL Draft. To exercise the option, the club must give written notice to the player on or after December 30, 2013 but prior to May 3, 2014. |
| Jan. 4-5 | Wild Card Playoff Games. |
| Jan. 5 | Assistant coaches under contract to playoff clubs that have byes in the Wild Card weekend may be interviewed for head coaching positions through the conclusion of the Wild Card games. |
| Jan. 11-12 | Divisional Playoff Games. |
| Jan. 12 | Assistant coaches under contract to playoff clubs that won their Wild Card games may be interviewed for head coaching positions through the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games. |
| Jan. 18 | East-West Shrine Game, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla. |
| Jan. 19 | AFC and NFC Championship Games. |
| Jan. 25 | Senior Bowl, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala. |
| Jan. 26 | Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu |
| Jan. 26 | An assistant coach, whose team is participating in the Super Bowl, who has previously interviewed for another club’s head coaching job may have a second interview with such club no later than the Sunday preceding the Super Bowl. |
| Feb. 2 | Super Bowl XLVIII, MetLife Stadium, New York-New Jersey. |
| Feb. 3 | Waiver system begins for 2014. |
| Feb. 8-9 | NFL Regional Combine, Methodist Training Center, Houston. |
| Feb. 15-16 | NFL Regional Combine, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, Florham Park, New Jersey. |
| Feb. 17 | First day for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players. |
| Feb. 19-25 | NFL Scouting Combine, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis |
| Feb. 22 | NFL Regional Combine, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, Calif. |
| March 1 | NFL Regional Combine, One Buccaneer Place, Tampa |
| March 3 | Prior to 4:00 p.m. ET, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players. |
| March 8 | Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2013 Player Contracts at 4 p.m. ET on March 11. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4 p.m. ET on March 11. |
| March 8-9 | NFL Regional Combine, Atlanta Falcons Training Facility, Flowery Branch, Ga. |
| March 11 | • Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must exercise options for 2014 on all players who have option clauses in their 2013 contracts.
• Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must submit Qualifying Offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts and to whom they desire to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation. • Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2013 contracts and who have fewer than three Accrued Seasons of free agency credit. • Top-51 Begins. All clubs must be under the 2014 Salary Cap prior to 4 p.m. ET. • All 2013 player contracts will expire at 4 p.m. ET. • The 2014 League Year and Free Agency period begin at 4 p.m. ET. • The first day of the 2014 League Year will end at 11:59:59 p.m. ET on March 11. Clubs will receive a Personnel Notice that will include all transactions submitted to the league office during the period between 4 p.m. ET and 11:59:59 p.m. ET on March 11. • Trading period for 2014 begins at 4 p.m. ET after expiration of all 2013 contracts. |
| March 15 | NFL Regional Combine, Halas Hall, Lake Forest, Ill. |
| March 22 | NFL Regional Combine, Doctors Hospital Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Fla. |
| March 22 | NFL Regional Combine, Doctors Hospital Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Fla. |
| March 22-23 | NFL Regional Combine, Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Renton. |
| March 23-26 | Annual Meeting, Orlando. |
| March 29 | NFL Regional Combine, Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, Indianapolis. |
| March 29-30 | NFL Regional Combine, Under Armour Performance Center, Owings Mills, Md. |
| April 7 | Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2013 regular season may begin offseason workout programs. |
| April 12-13 | Super Regional Combine, Ford Field, Detroit. |
| April 21 | Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs. |
| May 2 | Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign Offer Sheets. |
| May 7 | Deadline for Prior Club to exercise Right of First Refusal to Restricted Free Agents. |
| May 8-10 | 2014 NFL Draft, New York City. |
| May 19-21 | NFL Spring League Meeting, Atlanta. |
| June 2 | • Deadline for Prior Club to send “June 1 Tender” to its unsigned Unrestricted Free Agents. If the player has not signed a Player Contract with a Club by July 22 or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later, he may negotiate or sign a Player Contract from that date until the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, at 4 p.m. ET only with his Prior Club.• Deadline for Prior Club to send “June 1 Tender” to its unsigned Restricted Free Agents who received a Qualifying Offer for a Right of First Refusal Only in order for such player to be subject to the CBA’s “June 15 Tender” provision. |
| June 16 | Deadline for club to withdraw Qualifying Offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting “June 15 Tender” of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player’s prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged). |
| June 22-28 | Rookie Symposium, Aurora, Ohio. |
| July 15 | At 4 p.m. ET, deadline for any Club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multi-year contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his Prior Club for the 2014 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the Club’s last regular season game. |
| Mid-July | • Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for Rookies and First-Year Players beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for veteran players.• Veteran players (defined as a player with at least one pension-credited season) other than quarterbacks or “injured players” (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may report to a club’s preseason training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club’s first scheduled preseason game or July 15, whichever is later.• Veteran quarterbacks and injured players may be required to report to the club’s preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all Rookies and First-Year players.
• A three-day acclimation period will apply to players who are on a club’s roster up to and including the mandatory veteran reporting date. Players who join the roster after that date may practice (including wearing pads) and play immediately after passing a physical. |
| July 22 | • Signing Period ends for Unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “June 1 Tender” was made by Prior Club. After this date and until 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights. (* or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later).• Signing Period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights. |
| Sept. 4, 7-8 | Kickoff Weekend 2014* |
*NOTE: The regular season schedule with dates and times will be released at a later time.
