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2013 NFL Free Agency: It's Not "Tampering," It's "Negotiating"

This year's foray into NFL free agency features a new rule that endorses a practice that was previously prohibited. Read on for the details.

By Tim
I'm guessing Glover's agent is going to be getting some calls if his client hasn't re-signed with the Texans by Friday night.
I'm guessing Glover's agent is going to be getting some calls if his client hasn't re-signed with the Texans by Friday night.
Ronald Martinez

Free agency in the NFL officially begins at 3 p.m. on Tuesday (March 12th). That fact is fairly well known to fans. What isn't as well known, however, is that teams can officially and legally begin tampering negotiating with the agents of players bound for unrestricted free agency three days before free agency officially starts.

Greg Bedard of Boston.com breaks it down here. Two noteworthy details that I'll leave for your discussion here:

-The negotiating period starts at 11 p.m. CST on Friday night and ends at 2:59 p.m. CST on Tuesday.
-Even though teams can contact agents (note: if a player doesn't have an agent, the player cannot be contacted by any other teams) at 11 p.m. CST on Friday night, no visits can be scheduled, much less taken, and/or contracts signed until free agency begins on Tuesday.

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