NFL free agency and new league year, explained: How does it work, and what does it mean for the Patriots?

Free agency and the new NFL league year will officially start at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The NFL will officially close the book on its 2023 season on Wednesday.

While the season runs from September to early February, the league year actually is 365 (or 366) days long and traditionally starts in mid-March. At this point, the clocks are officially being turned to 2024 league-wide.

In 2024, the league year will begin at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13. At that point, player contracts running only through 2023 will expire marking the start of free agency. In addition, all teams need to be under the salary cap, and the trading window opens as well.

What does all of that mean, though? And how are the New England Patriots impacted by all of that? Let’s find out.

What is free agency?

Free agency is the signing period for players who are without an NFL contract. There are several categories of free agents depending on their previous experience in the NFL and the contracts they had last signed, but basically speaking there is a distinction between unrestricted, restricted, and exclusive rights free agents.

Unrestricted free agents were already allowed to speak to other teams the last two days during the so-called legal tampering period. However, they are not allowed to officially sign any deals until after hitting the open market at the start of the 2024 league year and free agency.

As previously discussed, teams also have tools at their disposal to prevent free agents from hitting the market even if they are not signed to extensions beforehand: the franchise and transition tags are one-year contracts applied in that case. The Patriots used the latter on safety Kyle Dugger this year.

As such, external teams can extend contract offers until July 22 (the Patriots have the right of first refusal). Dugger, meanwhile, has until November 12 to either sign the tender or a new contract altogether, or else he will have to sit out the rest of the season.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, meanwhile, will enter the market as well if they have not received appropriate tenders by their previous clubs at that point. Starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday those untendered players also will be free to negotiate and sign with any club, neither of which they were allowed to do beforehand.

Which Patriots players are set to enter free agency?

Not including since-retired Matthew Slater and James Ferentz, the Patriots had 22 free agents this offseason. Of those, nine remain unaccounted for as the calendar turns to 2024.

They are as follows, with their respective free agency statuses — UFA, RFA, or ERFA — in parentheses:

• OT Trent Brown (UFA): Profile
• CB Myles Bryant (UFA): Profile
• ST Cody Davis (UFA): Profile
• RB Ezekiel Elliott (UFA): Profile
• LB Terez Hall (RFA): Profile
• WR Tre Nixon (ERFA): Profile
• OT Riley Reiff (UFA): Profile

As soon as the clock strikes 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, all of them will be free to sign with any team in the league (including back in New England).

What is the compensatory draft picks formula?

While there are a few exceptions each year — including Patriots safety Jalen Mills this offseason — a vast majority of unrestricted free agents is also eligible to become compensatory FAs. In basic terms, if a team loses more and higher-value free agents than it signs it is entitled to draft pick compensation.

There is a catch, though. Only 32 such selections are handed out each year, and no club can get awarded more than four apiece. The Patriots, for example, will not

The formula to calculate those compensatory picks is regulated through the Collective Bargaining Agreement. What this means in practice is best illustrated over at Over the Cap, where a regularly updated compensatory selection projection can be found.

The period for players to qualify for compensation runs through the Monday after the NFL draft, which is April 29 this year. From that point on, any and all signings will not be factored into the NFL’s calculations.

What is the salary cap?

One critical part of the NFL’s strategy to secure parity and prevent a few clubs from dominating year-in and year-out, is the salary cap. Essentially a spending ceiling all teams need to be under, it is set depending on league revenue.

For the 2024 season, the salary cap is set at $255.4 million. The Patriots are projected to have $55.03 million available at the moment, according to cap expert Miguel Benzan.

What is the Top-51 rule?

During the offseason, when teams are allowed to have up to 90 players on their active rosters, not every contract is counted against the salary cap. In fact, only the 51 biggest cap hits do. This Top-51 rule will remain in place until after roster cutdown day and shortly before the start of the 2024 regular season in September. At that point, all 53 active players plus additional expenses will hit the cap.

What is the NFL trading window?

While teams can agree to trading players throughout the offseason, they only can officially facilitate them by the start of the new league year. The Patriots have never been afraid of being active on the trade market, and this year is no exception.

In fact, they decided to trade one rather notable player so far:

• QB Mac Jones: Traded to Jacksonville

The Patriots will reportedly get a sixth-round draft pick back for their former first-round quarterback. Again, however, the terms of the trade will not become official until after the new league year has begun.

Where can I find all of the Patriots’ moves?

Glad you asked. Our 2024 Patriots Free Agency Tracker will be updated regularly and can be seen as your gateway to all things New England free agency: not only do we have all the latest news and rumors in there, but also links to dozens of follow-up articles dissecting every move, player, and contract.

In addition, we also encourage you to visit our Patriots Updated Depth Chart for an up-to-date look at New England’s roster and free agents list.