NFL reveals key dates for rest of 2022 through May 2023

The NFL released its key dates for the rest of 2022 and the first half of 2023 on Tuesday. Here is everything you need to know, or what the league whats you to know.

2022
June

June 15: Deadline for club to withdraw Qualifying Offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting “June 15 Tender” of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player’s prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged).

Late June Rookie Readiness Program to be held at individual clubs.

July

July 15: At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for any Club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his Prior Club for the 2022 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the Club’s last regular-season game.

July 15: Beginning on July 15, or on the first day any club begins its training camp, whichever is earlier, and concluding at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the day of the roster reduction to 53 players, players in the Reserve List categories of Drafted; Unsigned, Exclusive Rights, First Refusal Rights, Unrestricted Free Agents with an individually negotiated Right of First Refusal, Franchise, and Transition will not count against the overall 90-player limit.

Mid-July: Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for Rookies (defined as a player who has never signed a Player Contract with an NFL Club in a prior League Year) beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for Veteran players. A Club’s preseason training camp will be deemed to have officially opened on the designated reporting date for all Rookies.

Clubs may require First-Year Players (defined as a player who signed a Player Contract with any NFL Club in a prior League Year, but who does not have a pension-credited season) to report on the designated reporting date for all Rookies, or at any time thereafter, including, but not limited to, the designated reporting date for Veteran quarterbacks and injured players, or the designated reporting date for all other Veteran players.

Veteran quarterbacks and “injured players” (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may be required to report to the club’s preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other Veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all Rookies.
Mid-July Beginning on the date that the first training camp opens for Rookies through the last business day prior to the Super Bowl, all tryouts and visits will be reported to clubs on the Personnel Notice.

July 22: At 4:00 p.m., New York time, Signing Period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights.

July 22* At 4:00 p.m., New York time, Signing Period ends for Unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “UFA Tender” was made by Prior Club. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights.
*or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later.

August

August 1:  Deadline for all clubs to conduct physical examinations pursuant to CBA Article 45, Section 2(c) to determine a player’s eligibility for the IP Benefit.

August 4: Hall of Fame Game, Jacksonville vs. Las Vegas, Canton, Ohio.

August 4-7: Hall of Fame Weekend, Canton, Ohio.

August 9: If a Drafted Rookie has not signed with his club by this date, he cannot be traded to any other club in 2022 and may sign a Player Contract only with the drafting club until the day of the Draft in the 2023 League Year.

August 11-14: First Preseason Weekend.

August 13-17: Each Club has until five days prior to its second preseason game to provide any tendered, but unsigned Exclusive Rights Player or Restricted Free Agent with written notice of the club’s intent to place the player on the Exempt List if the player fails to report at least the day before the club’s second preseason game. Such notice must also be sent to the NFLPA.

Once such notice has been provided, the club must place the player on the Exempt List. While on the Exempt List, the player will not be entitled to compensation for up to three regular-season games, depending upon the date the player reports to the club.

Any such player who fails to report prior to the deadline will be ineligible to play or receive compensation for at least three games (preseason or regular season) from the time that he reports.

August 16: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 85 players on the Active/Inactive List.

August 18-22: Second Preseason Weekend.

August 23: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 80 players on the Active/Inactive List.

Simultaneously with the roster reduction to 80 players, clubs that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness may select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; terminate or request waivers with the designation of Failed Physical or Non- Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness List.

August 25-28: Third Preseason Weekend.

August 30: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the Active/Inactive List.

Simultaneously with the roster reduction to 53 players, clubs that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; terminate or request waivers with the designation of Failed Physical or Non- Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the Active List.
Players who are on the Reserve List or Exempt List and are not counting against the 90-player limit will begin to count against the 90-player limit.
August 31 Claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at 12:00 noon, New York time.

Upon receipt of the subsequent Personnel Notice, clubs may establish a Practice Squad of 16 players, (clubs participating in the International Player Development Program may sign one additional international player to a Practice Player Contract.) No club, including the player’s prior club, will be permitted to sign a player to a Practice Player Contract until all clubs have received simultaneous notification via the above Personnel Notice that such player’s prior NFL Player Contract has been terminated via the waiver system.

August 31: Beginning at 4:00 p.m., New York time, any player placed on Reserve/Injured, Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, or Practice Squad; Injured during the regular season or postseason, may be designated for return later in the season, subject to the applicable procedures.

September

September 4: Final day of preseason training camp for all clubs, as defined in CBA Article 23, Section 10.

September 5-10: In accordance with the Personnel (Injury) Report Policy, each club is required to file a Practice Report with the NFL Communications department by 4:00 p.m., New York time, (or as soon as possible after the completion of practice) every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a regular-season Sunday game; Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for a Thursday game; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for a Monday game; and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a Saturday game.

Each club must also file a weekly regular-season Game Status Report with the NFL Communications department by 4:00 p.m., New York time (or as soon as possible after the completion of practice) on Wednesday for a Thursday game, Friday for a Sunday game, Saturday for a Monday game, and Thursday for a Saturday game. An update must be reported if there is any change in a player’s condition after the initial Game Status Report is filed.
September 7 At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for all NFL Player Contracts, Practice Player Contracts, tender offers, and miscellaneous amounts to fit within each Club’s 2022 Salary Cap, in anticipation of the midnight expiration of the Top 51 Rule.

September 8: At 12:00 a.m., New York time, the Top 51 Rule expires for all NFL Clubs.

September 8, 11-12: First Week of Regular Season Games.

September 9, 12-13: Beginning on these dates, any player with at least four previous pension-credited seasons who is released from his Club’s Active List or Inactive List (or from his Club’s Reserve/Injured List if placement occurred after the club’s first regular-season game) is entitled to claim Termination Pay, after the end of the regular season, subject to the terms and conditions of CBA Article 30.

October

October 3-4: Beginning on the day after a club’s fourth regular-season game (including any bye week), it is permitted to begin practicing players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform and Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness (if the player failed his preseason physical due to a non-football injury or illness) for a period not to exceed 21 days. Players may be activated during the 21-day practice period, or prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the day after the conclusion of the 21-day period.

November

November 1: All trading ends for 2022 at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

November 2: Players with at least four previous pension-credited seasons are subject to the waiver system for the remainder of the regular season and postseason.

November 7: Any increase in a player’s 2022 Salary from a renegotiation or extension that is received by the Management Council after 4:00 p.m., New York time, on this day, will be treated as Signing Bonus, and prorated over the entire term of the Player Contract, including 2022.

November 15:At 4:00 p.m., New York time, signing period ends for Franchise Players who are eligible to receive Offer Sheets.

November 15: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for Clubs to sign their unsigned Franchise and Transition Players, including Franchise Players who were eligible to receive Offer Sheets until this date. If still unsigned after this date, such players are prohibited from playing in NFL in 2022.
November 15 Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for Clubs to sign their Unrestricted Free Agents to whom the “UFA Tender” was made. If still unsigned after this date, such players are prohibited from playing in NFL in 2022.

November 15:  Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for Clubs to sign their Restricted Free Agents, including those to whom the “June 1 Tender” was made. If such players remain unsigned after this date, they are prohibited from playing in NFL in 2022.

December

December 1, 3, 5: Deadline at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the last business day prior to a club’s Week 13 game for reinstatement of players in Reserve List categories of Retired, Did Not Report, and Exclusive Rights, and of players who were placed on Reserve/Left Squad in a previous season.

December 13: NFLMC Labor Seminar, Four Seasons-Las Colinas, Irving, TX.

December 13-14: Special League Meeting, Four Seasons-Las Colinas, Irving, TX.

December 15: Deadline for all Clubs to submit their individual lists of players who received, or filed a grievance for, the Basic or Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2022 season.

2023

January

January 7: A claiming period of 24 hours shall be in effect for any waivers requested during the period from the Saturday of the final regular season weekend through the conclusion of the final postseason game, except for waiver requests on Friday and Saturday of each week, which shall expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the following Monday.

Assignment of player contracts will be deferred until the first business day after the Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl, whichever occurs later.
Terminations of player contracts will occur at the expiration of the claiming period.

A club that is participating in the playoffs may sign players whose contracts have been terminated to its Active/Inactive List, Practice Squad, or Reserve/Future List. A club whose playing season has concluded may sign such players to its Reserve/Future List only.

January 7-8: Eighteenth Week of Regular Season games. End of regular season.

January 9: Clubs may begin signing free agent players for the 2023 season.

January 9: NCAA National Championship Game (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA)

January 9: Earliest permissible date for clubs to renegotiate or extend the Rookie Contract of a Drafted Rookie who was selected in any round of the 2020 College Draft or any Undrafted Rookie who signed in 2021. Any permissible renegotiated or extended Player Contract will not be considered a Rookie Contract, and will not be subject to the rules that limit Rookie Contracts.

January 9: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must provide the Management Council with written notice, signed by the individual club’s owner, indicating the amount, if any, of the club’s 2022 League Year Salary Cap Room to be credited to the club’s 2023 Team Salary.

January 14-16: Wild Card Games

January 16: Special Eligibility Deadline. Deadline for college players who are underclassmen to apply for Special Eligibility. A list of underclassmen who have been approved for entry into the 2023 College Draft will be sent to clubs on January 20.

January 21-22: Divisional Playoff Games.

January 29: AFC & NFC Championship Games.

January 31: Deadline for any player claiming the Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2023 season to notify his former Club in writing.

February

February 3: Deadline for non-playoff clubs to submit their individual lists of Physician-Certified 2023 Basic Injury Protection Benefit Candidates to the Management Council.

February 5: Pro Bowl

February 12: Super Bowl LVII (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ)

February 13: Waiver system begins for 2023. A 24-hour claiming period will be in effect through the Friday prior to the last regular-season game (waiver requests made on Friday and Saturday of each week will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the following Monday.) Players with at least four previous pension-credited seasons whom a club desires to terminate are not subject to the waiver system until after the trading deadline.

February 13: Beginning the first business day after the Super Bowl through the opening of the first training camp for Rookies in 2023, clubs must report all tryouts and visits to the League office; however, such transactions will not be reported to other clubs.

February 16: Deadline for playoff clubs to submit their individual lists of Physician-Certified 2023 Basic Injury Protection Benefit Candidates to the Management Council.

February 21: Beginning this date through 4:00 p.m., New York time on March 7 clubs may designate Franchise or Transition Players.

February 28 –March 6: NFL Scouting Combine (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN)

March

March 7: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 7: College Pro Days Begin. Workouts of a school’s Pro Day-eligible players with players outside of the scheduled Pro Day activities are prohibited. Private dinners, meetings, interviews are permitted.

March 7-April 19: Draft-Eligible Facility Visits Begin. Clubs permitted 30 non-local players for physical exams/visits; no on-field workouts.

March 7-April 26: Video or telephone interviews with draft-eligible players begin. Three video or telephone interviews per player; no longer than one hour in length.

March 8-9: Deadline for clubs (60 days after final regular-season game) to conduct physical examinations pursuant to CBA Article 45, Section 7(a) for players claiming the Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2023 season.

March 13-15: Negotiation Period. During the period beginning at 12:00 noon, New York time, on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 15.

During the above two-day negotiating period, a prospective UFA who is not represented by an NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor is permitted to communicate directly with a new club’s front office officials (excluding the Head Coach and other members of the club’s coaching staff) regarding contract negotiations.

No prospective Unrestricted Free Agent is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 15.

March 15: End/Start of League Year. Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must exercise options for 2023 on all players who have option clauses in their 2022 contracts.

Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit Qualifying Offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation.

Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2022 contracts who have fewer than three Accrued Seasons of free agency credit.

Top 51 Rule is in effect. All clubs must be under the 2023 Salary Cap prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time. All 2022 NFL player contracts will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

The 2023 League Year and Free Agency period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

The first day of the 2023 League Year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 15. Clubs will receive a Personnel Notice that will include all transactions submitted to the League office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 15.
March 15 Trading period for 2023. Trading begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2022 contracts.

March 15: Commencing at 4:00 p.m., New York time, Clubs may designate up to two Player Contracts that, if terminated on or prior to June 1, 2023, and if not renegotiated after January 9, 2023, shall be treated as if terminated on June 2, subject to the further requirements of CBA Article 13, Section 6(b)(ii)(1).

March 23: Deadline for all Clubs to submit their individual lists of Physician-Certified Candidates for the 2023 Extended Injury Protection Benefit.

March 26-29: Annual League Meeting (The Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ)

March 30: Deadline for clubs to meet 2023 funding requirements for guaranteed or deferred compensation in NFL Player Contracts and contracts for non-player Club employees.

April

April 3: Clubs that hired a new Head Coach after the end of the 2022 regular season may begin offseason workout programs.

April 17: Clubs with returning Head Coaches may begin offseason workout programs.

April 19: Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview, or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at its club facility.

April 21: Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign Offer Sheets.

April 26: Deadline for Prior Club to exercise Right of First Refusal to Restricted Free Agents.

April 27: Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview (including video and phone calls), or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at any location.

April 27-29: Annual Selection Meeting/NFL Draft (Kansas City, MO)

May

May 1: Deadline for Prior Club to send “May 1 Tender” to its unsigned Unrestricted Free Agents. If the player has not signed a Player Contract with a Club by July 22 or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later, he may negotiate or sign a Player Contract from that date until the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, at 4:00 p.m., New York time, only with his Prior Club.

May 1: Deadline for Clubs to exercise Fifth-Year Option for players selected in the first round of the 2020 Draft.

May 5-8 or May 12-15: Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday on one of the two weekends following the Draft.

May 15: Rookie Football Development Programs begin.

May 18-21: (Tentative) NFLPA Rookie Premiere, TBD

May 22-24: Spring League Meeting, TBD