In addition to recent salary cap, franchise tag, and transition tag numbers for 2025, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported today on the numbers for restricted free agent tenders.
Restricted free agent tenders apply to players who are entering free agency with only three years of accrued NFL experience. While unrestricted free agents (players entering free agency with four or more years of experience) are able to determine their new contracts off of market demands, restricted free agents are limited to different tender categorizations. If a team doesn’t tender a restricted free agent by the start of the new league year, they’ll immediately become unrestricted free agents who can sign anywhere with no market limitations.
If a team does tender a restricted free agent, they can place first-round, second-round, original-round, or right-of-first-refusal tenders on the player. Other teams can submit offer sheets for the tendered player if they wish to acquire him, but the team that tendered him can match the offer sheet to keep the player if they choose. If a first-, second-, or original-round tender is placed on the player, the tendering team can receive draft compensation if it allows the player to walk for the offer sheet.
Like the franchise and transition tag, the restricted free agent tender is a one-year contract. The value of that contract is limited and determined by what tender is placed on the player.
For 2025, if a team places a simple, right-of-first-refusal tender on a player, he will earn a salary of $3.26MM for the year, should he sign that tender. If the team places a right-of-first-refusal tender with compensation set at the player’s original draft round, he will earn the higher of $3.41MM or 110% of the 2024 Paragraph 5 salary for the year, should he sign. The same tender with a designated second-round compensation will result in that player earning the higher of $5.35MM or 110% of the 2024 Paragraph 5 salary for the year, should he sign. The same tender with a designated first-round compensation will result in that player earning the higher of $7.46MM or 110% of the 2024 Paragraph 5 salary for the year, should he sign.
Lastly, should a player with a first-round tender receive an offer sheet from another team that waives or limits the new team’s ability to place the franchise/transition tag on that player and that provision is not matched by the tendering team, the player can earn the higher of $7.96MM or 110% of the 2024 Paragraph 5 salary for the year, should he sign.