NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 9
Veteran Free Agency

Section 3(c)
Offer Sheet and Right of First Refusal Procedures

(c)

No First Refusal Exercise Notice. If the Prior Club does not give the Restricted Free Agent the First Refusal Exercise Notice within the applicable period, the player and the New Club shall be deemed to have entered into a binding agreement, which they shall promptly formalize in a Player Contract, containing (i) all the Principal Terms; (ii) those terms of the NFL Player Contract not modified by the Principal Terms; and (iii) such additional terms, not less favorable to the Restricted Free Agent than those contained in the Offer Sheet, as may be agreed upon between the Restricted Free Agent and the New Club (subject to Section 5 below), and the Restricted Free Agent’s Prior Club shall receive from the New Club the Draft Choice Compensation, if any, specified in Section 2 above of this Article. Any Club that does not have available, in the upcoming Draft, the selection choice or choices (its own or better choices in the applicable rounds) needed to provide Draft Choice Compensation in the event of a timely First Refusal Exercise Notice may not sign an Offer Sheet in such circumstances. The player and the New Club may not renegotiate such Player Contract to reduce the Salary in such contract until after the end of the first regular season covered by the Contract. Neither the player nor the New Club may exercise an option in such Player Contract that reduces Salary in the first League Year of such contract until after the end of the first regular season covered by the Contract.