In each League Year during the term of this Agreement, each Club shall be permitted to designate one player who would otherwise be an Unrestricted Free Agent or Restricted Free Agent as a Transition Player in lieu of designating a Franchise Player, if such Franchise Player designation is available to such Club, in addition to the Transition Player designation permitted by the immediately preceding sentence, during the same designation period as the Franchise Player designation period. The period for Clubs to designate Transition Players will begin on the twenty-second day preceding the first day of the new League Year and will end at 4:00 p.m. New York time on the eighth day preceding the first day of the new League Year.

Any Club that designates a Transition Player shall receive the Rights of First Refusal specified in this Article notwithstanding the number of his Accrued Seasons. Any Transition Player shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club during the period from the first day of the League Year following the expiration of his last player contract to July 22, and any Club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with such player, without penalty or restriction, including, but not limited to, Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs of any kind, subject only to the Prior Club’s Right of First Refusal described in this Article.