The legal tampering period begins today, which was implemented by the NFL to put a stop to the rampant tampering that went on before the start of free agency. In year's past, teams would reach an agreement in principle with free agents before free agency even started. However, that did not coincide with the NFL's vision of making the start of free agency mirror college football's signing day.
To put a stop to it, the NFL sent out a memo to league officials and player agents, stating that teams and free agents could speak about possible parameters of a deal, but could not sign a deal (or announce it) until Tuesday at 4 pm.
Per Pro Football Talk, teams could “[s]ubmit a written summary of the club’s negotiating position,” to “[e]xpress its position as to signing bonus, length of contract, amounts of signing bonus and yearly compensation, and other items,” to “[a]djust its negotiating position in response to a certified agent’s position,” and “[e]ngage in an oral exchange of positions.”
If it sounds like a bunch of pointless legalize, you might have a point. The NFL goes on to emphasize that a team must say that it's only expressing a “negotiating position,” not “making an offer.” Under the memo, however, a team cannot offer a free agent a contract. Nor can the sides reach an agreement (express or otherwise).
Starting in 2013, teams and agents were so afraid and confused by this memo, that there were little, if any, leaks about deals being reached leading up to the start of free agency. Thanks for ruining our fun, NFL.
So what does this mean for the Eagles? Two things.
First, it means the Eagles can start negotiating with other team's free agents, like Seattle's Byron Maxwell and New England's Devin McCourty. Rumors were circulating on the Mike Missanelli show on 97.5 the Fanatic that Maxwell's agents were en route to Philly late last night. Look for more news leaks like that to come out over the weekend. Just don't expect any news about the "agreements" being reached (even though for all practical purposes they like are being reached, just not announced).
The flip side of that is that the Eagles free agents — like Jeremy Maclin and Brandon Graham — can also start negotiating with other teams. The Eagles still are the only team that can "ah hem" sign these guys. But now is the first time, at least legally, that Maclin and Graham can listen to what other teams have to offer, I mean say.
That also means that Maclin and Graham can use those negotiations as leverage with the Eagles in order to get a better offer from them. This happened last year with the Minnesota Vikings' Everson Griffin, who was able to use the tampering period to gain leverage in his negotiations, ultimately leading to a massive deal with the Vikings before free agency started.
Let the fun begin!
