What are OTAs for NFL teams?

It may be the heart of the NFL offseason, but you might as well refresh your memory as to what the term OTAs means and what it is all about.

Following the NFL draft, we hear all about players reporting (or not reporting) to OTAs. It's nomenclature that gets thrown around freely but often without much explanation about what we're talking about when we say that.

So what are OTAs and what do they mean for teams?

What are OTAs in the NFL?

Per the NFLPA's collective bargaining agreement, organized team activities, better known as OTAs for short, are all about having structured practices in between the end of the season and before training camp commences. These usually occur in May and June.

These are very important because it allows players and coaching staff to come together for the first time in months to work on a few things. For younger players and new coaches, OTAs are a way for development and instruction to occur more regularly. Players may have playbooks and coaches may have film, but this is part of the offseason where school is somewhat back in session for a few days.

In theory, these few practices are great and all for NFL teams. However, they have taken on somewhat of a negative connotation in recent CBAs. See, players who do not like their current contract situations may hold out, as in not show up to these very important organized team activities. Since they are part of the CBA, players will be fined for every day of practice they fail to report to during this period.

Hold-ins have become more common as a result of avoiding having to pay so much in fines and such.

What do OTAs mean for NFL teams?

These OTAs are often the first time many rookies get to meet their new veteran teammates. Yes, there is rookie minicamp, as well as the rookie symposium, which takes place a little bit later in the calendar year for those fresh to the league. However, getting a new draft pick acquainted with most of the guys he will be playing with is crucial. Of course, not every team's best player shows up for these.

Again, we have arrived at the concept of holdouts and hold-ins. Hold-ins have become the far preferable way of doing business. A player not showing up for OTAs is not a good look, but can be overcome with a new contract put together. Basically, missing out on OTAs can be chump change for a high-priced veteran, even if they are of the finable and mandatory variety. There are also voluntary...

Overall, OTAs is a time where everybody associated with a team can first come together in hopes of going on a championship run several months down the road. Everybody wants to put their best foot forward, but that isn't always the case because of money. OTAs are often a time where we begin to fully realize that the NFL is in fact a business at its core. The games are fun, but the NFL is a cash cow.

Organized team activities are required offseason practices where everybody on a team reports to.