NFL's New Free Agency Rule: Direct Calls with Players

It's March 31st.

This is NFL News today, AI-powered stories from around the league.

I'm Cory with the story.

The NFL just made a big rule change permanent, one that the Pittsburgh Steelers pushed for

last off season.

Owners voted in at their annual meetings in Arizona, letting teams make one call with

up to five unrestricted free agents during the legal.

Tampering period.

It smooths out the early free agency hustle.

This rule was on a one-year trial back in March, and it passed with enough votes to stick

around for good.

No more temporary vibes.

It's the new standard moving forward.

Before this, teams couldn't chat directly with players, only their agents, and no booking

travel until the league year started.

Fans and execs always gripped about the clunky setup, which slowed down deals and kept things

impersonal.

Now teams can do phone or video calls, but they got to report every detail to the NFL's

player personnel department.

Like date, time, who joined, and the agent's name.

Once a deal's ink during tampering, travel plans can kick off right away, though no facility

visits to the new year.

This tweak makes free agency flow better from the jump, giving players and teams that direct

connection early.

The trial proved it works, so expect cleaner negotiations league-wide next time around.