Free agency kicks off at noon ET on Monday. But things can get a bit confusing. The new league year doesn’t officially start until Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET. This is important because, before, everything would just begin at the start of the new league year. In fact, it used to start at 12:01 a.m. ET on a Friday.
Now, thanks to an early negotiating window, most teams will wrap up their deals by Wednesday afternoon. This year, we might see even more deals leaked right after the clock hits twelve. It’s likely that teams have been talking to free agents even before the official start.
Last week, a source hinted that teams would reach out to free agents over the weekend, which explains why some players chose to stay with their teams just hours before they could sign elsewhere. They have a good idea of their options and what to expect. Sometimes keeping a player means a team has to offer a bit more than they planned.
But now, everything officially starts today at noon. We’ll keep you updated with every transaction as the news rolls in.
