NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 6
College Draft


  • Section 1. Time of Draft

    There shall be an Annual Selection Meeting (the “College Draft” or “Draft”) each League Year during the term of this Agreement and for the year immediately following the expiration or termination of this Agreement, with respect to which the following rules shall apply. In any League Year in which the NFL deems it appropriate, there may also be a Supplemental Draft.

  • Section 2. Number of Choices and Eligibility
    (a)

    The Draft shall consist of seven rounds, with each round consisting of the same number of selection choices as there will be Clubs in the NFL the following League Year, plus a maximum number of additional Compensatory Draft Selections equal to the number of Clubs then in the League, with such Compensatory Draft Selections reserved for Clubs losing certain Unrestricted Free Agents. If in any League Year the number of Compensatory Draft Selections awarded in the Draft for that League Year is less than the number of Clubs then in the League, an additional number of selection choices shall be awarded to Clubs based upon Draft selection order (“Supplemental Selections”), so that the combined number of Compensatory Draft Selections and Supplemental Selections equals the total number of Clubs then in the League. Each Draft shall be held between February 14 and June 2, on a date which shall be determined by the Commissioner.

    (b)

    No player shall be permitted to apply for special eligibility for selection in the Draft, or otherwise be eligible for the Draft, until three NFL regular seasons have begun and ended following either his graduation from high school or graduation of the class with which he entered high school, whichever is earlier. For example, if a player graduated from high school in December 2020, he would not be permitted to apply for special eligibility, and would not otherwise be eligible for selection, until the 2024 Draft.

    (c)

    If a player who was not eligible for the Draft in any League Year becomes eligible after the date of the Draft, he will be eligible to be selected in a Supplemental Draft, if the League elects to conduct such a Draft, on or before the seventh calendar day prior to the opening of the first training camp that League Year. No player may elect to bypass a Draft for which he is eligible to apply for selection in a Supplemental Draft. Any Club that selects a player in a Supplemental Draft must forfeit a choice in the same round in the next succeeding principal Draft.

    (d)

    No player shall be eligible to be employed by an NFL Club until he has been eligible for selection in an NFL Draft.

  • Section 3. Required Tender

    A Club that drafts a player shall be deemed to have automatically tendered the player a four-year NFL Player Contract for the Minimum Active/Inactive List Salary for such League Years.

  • Section 4. Signing of Drafted Rookies
    (a)

    A drafted player may accept the Required Tender at any time up to and including the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season immediately following the Draft, at 4:00pm New York time. In the event the exclusive negotiating rights to the drafted player are assigned to another Club through the NFL waiver system, the acquiring Club shall be deemed to have automatically extended the Required Tender immediately upon the assignment. If released through waivers, the player shall be treated as an Undrafted Rookie, with the right to sign an NFL Player Contract with any Club, subject to the provisions of Article 7.

    (b)

    If a Drafted Rookie has not signed a Player Contract during the period from the date of such Draft to the thirtieth day prior to the first game of the regular season: (i) the Club that drafted the player may not thereafter trade to another Club either its exclusive negotiating rights to such player or any Player Contract that it signs with such player for the player’s initial League Year; and (ii) the Club that drafted the player is the only Club with which the player may sign a Player Contract until the day of the Draft in the subsequent League Year, at which time such player is eligible to be drafted in the subsequent League Year’s Draft by any Club except the Club that drafted him in the initial Draft. (After the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season, the player and the Club may sign a Player Contract only for future League Year(s)).

    (c)

    If a Drafted Rookie has not signed a Player Contract by the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season, at 4:00pm New York time, the player shall be prohibited from playing football in the NFL for the remainder of that League Year, absent a showing to the Impartial Arbitrator of extreme Club or extreme personal hardship. The determination of the Impartial Arbitrator shall be made within five days of the application, and shall be based upon all information relating to such hardship submitted by such date. The determination of the Impartial Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon all parties.

  • Section 5. Other Professional Teams
    (a)

    Notwithstanding Section 4(b) above, if a player is drafted by a Club and, during the period between the Draft and the next annual Draft, signs a contract with, plays for, or is employed by a professional football team not in the NFL during all or any part of the 12-month period following the initial Draft, then the drafting Club (or any assignee Club) shall retain the exclusive NFL rights to negotiate for and sign a contract with the player until the day of the Draft three League Years after the initial Draft, and shall thereafter have a Right of First Refusal as described herein, and the player may receive offers from any Club at any time thereafter. The player shall notify the NFLPA and the NFL of his desire to sign a contract with an NFL Club and of the date on which the player will be free of his other contractual obligations of employment, if any. Within thirty days of receipt of such notice by the NFL or the date of the availability of such player, whichever is later, the NFL Club that drafted the player must tender a Player Contract as set forth in Section 3 above to the player in order to retain its rights to that player, as detailed below.

    (b)

    For a player to whom the drafting Club retains the exclusive NFL rights pursuant to Section 4(a) above, the Club must tender a four-year NFL Player Contract for the Minimum Active/Inactive List Salary for such League Years, within the thirty-day period specified in Subsection (a) above. If the player is released through waivers, the player immediately becomes an Undrafted Rookie, with the right to sign an NFL Player Contract with any Club, subject to the provisions of Article 7, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period.

    (c)

    For players with respect to whom the drafting Club retains a Right of First Refusal pursuant to this Section 5, during each League Year the player shall be treated as if he were a Restricted Free Agent not subject to Draft Choice Compensation, as described in Article 9, Section 2, except as otherwise set forth in this Section 5. For such players subject to a Right of First Refusal, the Club must tender a four-year NFL Player Contract for the Minimum Active/Inactive List Salary for such League Years within the thirty-day period specified in Subsection (a) above. The amount of such tender and/or any Player Contract entered into with the player shall not be subject to the Rookie Compensation Pool. If the Club does not make or withdraws the Required Tender, the player immediately becomes an Undrafted Rookie, with the right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, subject to the applicable provisions of Article 7, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period.

  • Section 6. Return to College

    If any college football player who becomes eligible for the Draft prior to exhausting his college football eligibility through participation is drafted by an NFL Club, and returns to college, the drafting Club’s exclusive right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with such player shall continue through the date of the Draft that follows the last season in which the player was eligible to participate in college football, and thereafter the player shall be treated and the Club shall have such exclusive rights as if he were drafted in such Draft by such Club (or assignee Club)..

  • Section 7. Assignment of Draft Rights

    In the event that the exclusive right to negotiate for a Drafted Rookie under Sections 4, 5 or 6 above is assigned from one Club to another Club, the Club to which such right has been assigned shall have the same, but no greater, right to such player, including the Right of First Refusal described in Section 5, as would the Club assigning such right, and such player shall have the same, but no greater, obligation to the NFL Club to which such right has been assigned as he had to the Club assigning such right.

  • Section 8. Subsequent Draft

    A Club that, in a subsequent Draft, drafts a player who (a) was selected in an initial Draft, and (b) did not sign a contract with the NFL Club that drafted him or with any assignee Club during the signing period set forth in Sections 4 through 6 above, shall, during the period from the date of the subsequent Draft to the date of the Draft held the subsequent League Year, be the only NFL Club that may negotiate with or sign a Player Contract with such player. If such player has not signed a Player Contract within the period beginning on the date of the subsequent Draft and ending on the thirtieth day prior to the beginning of the regular season, the Club loses all rights to trade its exclusive negotiating rights to such player or any Player Contract that it signs with such player for the player’s initial League Year. After the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season, the player and the Club may sign a Player Contract only for future League Year(s), except as provided in Section 4(c) above. If the player has not signed a Player Contract by the day of the next annual College Draft following the subsequent Draft, the player immediately becomes an Undrafted Rookie, with the right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, subject to the provisions of Article 7, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period.

  • Section 9. No Subsequent Draft

    If a player is drafted by a Club in an initial Draft and (a) does not sign a contract with a Club during the signing period set forth in Sections 4 through 6 above, and (b) is not drafted by any Club in the subsequent Draft, the player immediately becomes an Undrafted Rookie, with the right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period.

  • Section 10. Compensatory Draft Selections

    Compensatory Draft Selections shall be determined in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth in Appendix V, subject to any future changes as to which the parties may agree.

  • Section 11. Undrafted Rookies

    Any person who has not been selected by a Club in a College Draft shall be an Undrafted Rookie, and shall be free, after the completion of a College Draft for which he is eligible, to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, subject to the provisions of Article 7, and any Club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any such person after such date, without any penalty or restriction, including, but not limited to, Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind.

  • Section 12. Notice of Signing

    Promptly following but no later than two business days after receipt of notice of the signing of any Drafted or Undrafted Rookie, the NFL shall notify the NFLPA of such signing.