The Seattle Seahawks' dominant win in Super Bowl LX closed the curtain on this NFL season — but don't worry, because another one is right around the corner. Following this league is a full-time sport, and while the party will continue in Seattle for weeks and months to come, all 32 teams have already turned their focus to trying to win it all in 2026.
That process begins much sooner than you think, with front offices facing key decisions this month that will affect the teams they put on the field come Week 1. When does free agency begin? What about the NFL Draft? Here's everything you need to know about the sure-to-be-wild offseason ahead.
When does NFL free agency start?
Unrestricted free agents technically aren't allowed to sign a contract with a new team until 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11. But 2026 free agency really begins more than 48 hours prior. At noon ET on Monday, March 9, teams can officially begin contacting and negotiating with free agents and their representatives, a two-day window also known as the legal tampering period.
That legal tampering period was instituted back in 2012, in order to bring NFL rules in line with the league's reality; teams were going to reach out to prospective free agents ahead of time no matter what, so you might as well make it above board. This year, though, brings some significant change: Whereas teams used to only be allowed to contact a player's representatives during the tampering window, now they'll be allowed to contact the players themselves, whether that's a pitch meeting over Zoom or an in-person tour of the team facility.
As for which players will be available in free agency this offseason, there are some big names expected to hit the market. Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is the biggest of the bunch, but the list also includes the likes of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, Green Bay Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker and New York Jets running back Breece Hall. And it could have been even more loaded, were it not for the franchise tag.
When is the franchise tag deadline?
NFL front offices have only a matter of weeks to decide whether they want to extend the franchise tag to any of their pending free agents for the upcoming season. The window to tag players opens on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and runs until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 3. At that point, any players not given the franchise tag or the transition tag will be free to enter free agency.
For the uninitiated, the franchise tag is a one-year, guaranteed contract at a salary equivalent to the average of the top five salaries at the player's position (or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever number is higher). There are two types of franchise tags: exclusive, in which the player can't negotiate with other teams and must either play out the season on the franchise tag or negotiate a long-term contract with his current team, or non-exclusive, in which the player can negotiate with other teams but with the caveat that his original team can choose to match any competing offers or receive two first-round picks as compensation.
You can only hand out one franchise tag per offseason, and the salary begins to skyrocket if you try to apply the tag to the same player in consecutive years, so this is a tool that front offices need to use wisely. The Dallas Cowboys have already hinted that they're going to use the franchise tag on receiver George Pickens rather than let him hit free agency, and he won't be the only one: Names like Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts are other candidates to get tagged, either for one season or as a placeholder before agreeing to a long-term deal.
What will the salary cap be for 2026, and which teams have the most room?
We won't know the exact dollar amount of next year's salary cap for another few weeks, as the NFL dots its i's and crosses its t's about this season's revenue numbers. But the league always tries to give teams an estimate ahead of time in order to help them plan for free agency next month, and it seems like we're once again in for a major jump: According to a report from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero last week, the salary cap for next season is expected to fall somewhere between $301 million and $305 million — a jump of roughly $22-26 million over last year's number.
The NFL operates under a hard salary cap system, but teams don't actually have to be under next year's cap until the new league year begins with the start of free agency at 4 p.m. ET on March 11. According to Over the Cap, the Tennessee Titans (more than $104 million below the cap) and Las Vegas Raiders (more than $91 million below the cap) enter the offseason with the most salary cap space, with the Los Angeles Chargers ($83 million), New York Jets ($83 million) and Washington Commanders ($76 million) not far behind. And the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks don't appear to be going anywhere any time soon, with an estimated $73 million or so in cap space to work with this offseason.
When is the 2026 NFL Draft?
With the Senior Bowl already in the books, the road to the 2026 NFL Draft is well under way. This year's draft will be held from April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Penn., with Round 1 on Thursday, Rounds 2-3 on Friday and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday.
This is not regarded as the strongest draft class in recent memory, especially at quarterback, where former Indiana star Fernando Mendoza is more or less unchallenged at the top and appears to be a shoo-in for the Raiders with the No. 1 overall pick. But there are still plenty of intriguing talents to know, from Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese to Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
Pick | Team |
|---|---|
1 | Las Vegas Raiders |
2 | New York Jets |
3 | Arizona Cardinals |
4 | Tennessee Titans |
5 | New York Giants |
6 | Cleveland Browns |
7 | Washington Commanders |
8 | New Orleans Saints |
9 | Kansas City Chiefs |
10 | Cincinnati Bengals |
The draft process really kicks up in a couple of weeks, when the 2026 Scouting Combine begins in Indianapolis on Monday, Feb. 23.