The NFL Combine provides a number of unique opportunities for high school football prospects to enhance their draft stock. The Combine offers a one-on-one opportunity for coaches to evaluate talent in person. Combine workouts are also often live webcasts, which provide coaches additional up-to-date information about players. Combine workouts often offer more Combine drills than the football programs themselves. It’s no wonder that many top prospects attend the Combine to showcase their skills and become more aware of the pro game. Many combine participants have their families attend the Combine, bringing family members with them to witness the Combine and its exciting offerings.
An Unrestricted Free Agency (ULA) is a limited period of time in which a player may sign a contract. A player may sign a contract with a new team beginning one week before the start of the league year, but a player may not sign a contract with another team (including his own) until the start of the UFA training camp. A qualified high school football prospect may register as an UFA, but must be enrolled in a college or have been out of high school for three years. As with other types of athlete free agency, a prospect can negotiate with other unrestricted free agents during the UFA period.
Two-year contracts offer more financial security for college football players, but also carry greater risk. A two-year contract starts with a signing bonus of four hundred thousand dollars and runs for two years. During the second year of the contract, the player may sign additional contracts with other clubs for a total contract value of seven hundred thousand dollars. Prospects who successfully complete a two-year contract are rewarded with a signing bonus of two million dollars and full rights to the NFL draft.
The third and final option, a three-year contract, allows a professional athlete to enter the National Football League (NFL) after making the following three seasons of FBS college football. The player must begin practice as a full-time student at an approved university and earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school. After earning a bachelor’s degree, he must earn a master’s degree or pursue employment in the field of sports medicine in order to continue his education and earn a Ph.D. at an approved university. At the conclusion of his three-year contract, the player may sign a four-year contract that will keep him in the NFL for the maximum of five years. The player’s contract will run for the maximum of seven years and the player will receive the highest overall contract amount at the conclusion of his contract. If he signs a four-year deal, he is awarded an additional bonus of two million dollars.
In order to become an unrestricted free agent following the conclusion of his contract with his previous NFL team, a player may negotiate with his current NFL team to accept a dispersal offer. Players who become eligible to be drafted by their teams without receiving an offer from the NFL can enter the draft through one of two methods: he can be drafted straight out of high school, or he can be selected by a personal visit. Each player is given the opportunity to visit Combine, Super Bowl or invite-vacation programs prior to the draft. Once the player has been chosen by the NFL draft panel, he is then eligible to negotiate with his existing NFL team or any other team that he may want to play for.
Each year, professional athletes, such as football players, cyclists, tennis players, hockey players and basketball players are given the chance to enter the National Football League (NFL) free agency pool. Each year different amounts of unrestricted free agents are allowed to enter into this pool based on their ranking and contract offers received from other teams. Once a player has qualified for the NFL free agency pool, he is now able to negotiate the terms of his new deal with his current NFL team or any other team that he may want to play for. The process is very similar to that of a baseball free agent, except that the player does not have to worry about signing a deal with his current NFL team before the start of the new league year. Each year, the number of free agents who qualify for the RFA draft becomes smaller until there are just a few players left in the draft.