I'm sure many of you are now aware of the rules regarding free agency if the league and the players association can't come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. If you're not familiar, check out WesternChief's great post on it.
One thing that would change if a CBA isn't done is that players would need six years of service, not four, to become unrestricted free agents. This would be a huge development from both sides. For the owners, it would be cheaper for them to retain their drafted players. For the players, it's two more years until many of them can hit free agency.
If you're a player in the NFL, free agency is the goal. You want to get there. You want teams competing over you driving up the price. That's how you strike it rich.
For the Chiefs, this rule would hit home for six players:
QB Brodie Croyle, LB Corey Mays, LB Derrick Johnson, C Rudy Niswanger, RT Ryan O'Callaghan and FS Jarrad Page.
Instead of those players finishing out their contracts and hitting the open market, the Chiefs would have the option of placing a tender on them as a free agent.
| Tender amount | Compensation required |
|---|---|
| $2.562 million | First- and third-round |
| $2.017 million | First-round |
| $1.417 million | Second-round |
| $927,000 | Determined by RFA's original draft status |
These are the numbers for 2008.
If the Chiefs placed a second round tender on let's say Derrick Johnson, then he could sign the offer sheet and receive about $1.5 million on a one year deal.
However, other teams would have the option of offering him a contract and, if the Chiefs wanted to match it, they could. If they didn't want to match it, then they would receive a second round pick in return.