A contract offer from a new team to a restricted free agent or a player under a non-exclusive franchise/transition tag. The original team has a set period (typically five days) to match the offer or let the player leave.
An offer sheet is a formal contract proposal submitted by a team to a player who is either a restricted free agent or tagged with a non-exclusive franchise or transition tag. The offer sheet must be for a minimum of one year and details all contract terms including salary, bonuses, and guarantees. Once signed by the player, the offer sheet is sent to the original team, which then has a specified window to decide whether to match. For restricted free agents, the original team has five days to match the offer sheet. If they match, the player remains with the original team under the exact terms of the offer sheet. If they decline, the player joins the new team and the original team receives draft pick compensation based on the tender level they had placed on the player. For non-exclusive franchise tagged players, the same five-day matching window applies, with two first-round picks as the compensation. Offer sheets can be strategically structured to make them difficult for the original team to match. Teams sometimes front-load guaranteed money or include unusual bonus structures (known as "poison pill" provisions, though the CBA has limited these) to discourage matching. Despite this, the vast majority of offer sheets are matched, making them relatively rare occurrences in the NFL.
In 2022, the Cowboys submitted an offer sheet to RFA WR Allen Lazard (then with the Packers). The Packers chose not to match, allowing Lazard to sign with Dallas. Successful offer sheets that go unmatched remain uncommon in the NFL.
Category: Free Agency & Tags. Part of the StickToTheModel NFL Encyclopedia.