NFL AGENT TEST PAPER MAIN QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔RESTRICTED FREE AGENT (Qualifying Offers) ROFR & 2nd round - ✔✔2020
SALARY EXAMPLE - $3.095 million or 110% of previous year's salary
✔✔RESTRICTED FREE AGENT (Qualifying Offers) ROFR & 1st round - ✔✔2020
SALARY EXAMPLE - $4.407 million or 110% of previous year's salary
✔✔UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT TENDER - ✔✔The tender deadline for UFA
players are due by June 1st. A Club can offer 110% of the previous year's salary. This
usually does not happen.
✔✔Franchise Player Tag (Designation Period) - ✔✔A Club may designate a Franchise
Player from the 22nd to the 8th day prior to the start of the League Year. It may be more
easily described as the 14 day period ending 8 days before the start of the League Year
✔✔Franchise Player Tag (COMPENSATION Period) - ✔✔The Franchise Tag entitles
the player to a salary that is equal to (stay with me) "the average of the top 5 salaries at
the player's position averaged over 5 years as a percentage of the cap, or 120% of the
player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater".
For the exam, you need to know and understand the definition, but you will not be
calculating the actual number.
The original intent of the Franchise designation was to encourage long-term deals. After
a player is designated, if a long-term deal is signed by July 15th (4:00pm EST), the Tag
then becomes available for the Club to use on another player the following year. After
July 15th, the player may only sign a 1-year deal.
✔✔Multiple Franchise Player Designations - ✔✔If a player is tagged a 2nd time in his
career, the same rules apply to his compensation.
,If a player is tagged a 3rd time in his career: - Salary will be the greater of the average
of the top 5 salaries, regardless of position (usually will be QB's), or 144% of the
player's previous year salary.
✔✔Waiver System (Players with less than 3 Credited Seasons) - ✔✔Players with less
than 3 credited seasons are always subject to the waiver system.
In-season, there is a 24-hour period in which a Club may submit a claim for a player and
priority is based on team standings from the previous year (order of draft). It is important
to note that a players contract is not actually terminated until he clears waivers.
✔✔WAIVER SYSTEM (Players with 4 or more Credited Seasons) - ✔✔Players with 4 or
more credited seasons are only held to the waiver system until after the trade deadline
(the Tuesday after week 8 of the regular season).
If the player is claimed, and has a "no-trade" clause in his contract, he can declare Free
Agency at the end of that season. If he does not have that clause, he may declare Free
Agency one year later.
✔✔Mini Camps For Veterans - ✔✔Veterans are allowed a maximum of 1 minicamp
consisting of 3 days, plus an additional day for physicals. If there is a new Head Coach
they may have 1 additional mini camp.
✔✔Mini Camps For ROOKIES - ✔✔Each club may hold a Post-Draft Rookie Minicamp
on either the 1st or 2nd weekend following the college draft.
✔✔Preseason Mandatory Report Date - ✔✔Players may not report to camp until 47
days prior to the first regular season game, if your week 1 game is Thurs or Sun; 48
days prior if your week 1 game is a Mon. Rookies may report 7 days prior to the
mandatory report date for Veterans.
✔✔Exceptions to Mandatory Report Date - ✔✔The following players may report 20 days
prior to the 1st preseason game: ๏ Quarterbacks ๏ Players on IR list ๏ Players on
PUP/PUP-NFI list ๏ Players injured, or who have had surgery, in the off-season
✔✔Signing Bonus Forfeiture Types - ✔✔The following bonuses may be forfeited due to
conduct or breach: Signing, Roster, Report and Option bonuses.
✔✔Signing Bonus Forfeiture Forfeitable Breaches - ✔✔Willfully fail to report, practice or
play ๏ Unavailable due to incarceration ๏ Unavailable due to non-football injury ๏
Voluntarily retires
✔✔Signing Bonus Forfeiture How Much? - ✔✔Forfeitures are generally limited to be
proportionate to the number of games missed due to the breach. For Report, Roster
, and Option bonuses - a forfeiture occurs only if a breach occurs in the same year as the
bonus was earned.
✔✔Forfeitures Under Drug Program - ✔✔Suspensions under the Drug Policy have their
own forfeiture of bonuses. These would be proportionate to the length of the
suspension.
✔✔A player is on his team's active roster for the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons. During
the 2022 season, he gets cut on the Monday after the 5th game. He is then signed to
the active roster for a different team for Week 17 of the 2022 season and plays that
Sunday. Which of the following is true? - ✔✔The player has 3 credited seasons and 3
accrued seasons A credited season is 3 games on the active/inactive list. An accrued
season is 6 games on active/inactive or IR. Even though the 6 games came with 2
different teams, the total of 6 is all that matters.
✔✔A free agent player signs a contract in 2028 which has the following terms: 5 years,
signing bonus of $5,000,000, P5 Salaries: 2028 - $1,000,000; 2029 - $1,000,000; 2030 -
$2,000,000; 2031 - $3,000,000; 2032 - $4,000,000. This contract will: - ✔✔Be voided for
violating the 30% rule The 30% rule applies to veteran contracts that are entered into in
a capped year that extend into an uncapped year. The rule provides that a player's
salary may not increase more than 30% of the salary in the final capped year.
✔✔Player A is in the 4th year of his rookie contract. A week before the end of the
league year after his 4th season, the team makes him an offer on a new contract which
averages $4,000,000 per year. Per NFLPA rules, you are required to: - ✔✔Notify the
NFLPA Salary Cap and Agent Administration Department Per the NFLPA directive, any
re-negotiation which averages more than $2 million/season requires a contract advisor
to contact the NFLPA SCAA Department.
✔✔In 2020, the undrafted rookie reservation amount per club was: - ✔✔$123,279.This
will be in the source materials you get for the exam.
✔✔A player who is in the substances of abuse program and has his second Failure to
Cooperate violation in Stage 2: - ✔✔A fine of 2/17ths of his Paragraph 5 salary The
difference between a successful completion of Stage 1 and unsuccessful is that your
penalties are always more. This is explicitly laid out in the SOA policy.
✔✔A running back plays only 8 games in 2020 and rushes for 800 yards. His contract
expires and the team wants to give him an NLTBE incentive for rushing yards in 2021.
What is the lowest amount of yards the bonus can start at to be considered NLTBE? -
✔✔801 An NLTBE incentive must be just 1 more (yard, touchdown, interception, etc)
than what the player achieved the year before. It does not matter how many games the
player played.
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔RESTRICTED FREE AGENT (Qualifying Offers) ROFR & 2nd round - ✔✔2020
SALARY EXAMPLE - $3.095 million or 110% of previous year's salary
✔✔RESTRICTED FREE AGENT (Qualifying Offers) ROFR & 1st round - ✔✔2020
SALARY EXAMPLE - $4.407 million or 110% of previous year's salary
✔✔UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT TENDER - ✔✔The tender deadline for UFA
players are due by June 1st. A Club can offer 110% of the previous year's salary. This
usually does not happen.
✔✔Franchise Player Tag (Designation Period) - ✔✔A Club may designate a Franchise
Player from the 22nd to the 8th day prior to the start of the League Year. It may be more
easily described as the 14 day period ending 8 days before the start of the League Year
✔✔Franchise Player Tag (COMPENSATION Period) - ✔✔The Franchise Tag entitles
the player to a salary that is equal to (stay with me) "the average of the top 5 salaries at
the player's position averaged over 5 years as a percentage of the cap, or 120% of the
player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater".
For the exam, you need to know and understand the definition, but you will not be
calculating the actual number.
The original intent of the Franchise designation was to encourage long-term deals. After
a player is designated, if a long-term deal is signed by July 15th (4:00pm EST), the Tag
then becomes available for the Club to use on another player the following year. After
July 15th, the player may only sign a 1-year deal.
✔✔Multiple Franchise Player Designations - ✔✔If a player is tagged a 2nd time in his
career, the same rules apply to his compensation.
,If a player is tagged a 3rd time in his career: - Salary will be the greater of the average
of the top 5 salaries, regardless of position (usually will be QB's), or 144% of the
player's previous year salary.
✔✔Waiver System (Players with less than 3 Credited Seasons) - ✔✔Players with less
than 3 credited seasons are always subject to the waiver system.
In-season, there is a 24-hour period in which a Club may submit a claim for a player and
priority is based on team standings from the previous year (order of draft). It is important
to note that a players contract is not actually terminated until he clears waivers.
✔✔WAIVER SYSTEM (Players with 4 or more Credited Seasons) - ✔✔Players with 4 or
more credited seasons are only held to the waiver system until after the trade deadline
(the Tuesday after week 8 of the regular season).
If the player is claimed, and has a "no-trade" clause in his contract, he can declare Free
Agency at the end of that season. If he does not have that clause, he may declare Free
Agency one year later.
✔✔Mini Camps For Veterans - ✔✔Veterans are allowed a maximum of 1 minicamp
consisting of 3 days, plus an additional day for physicals. If there is a new Head Coach
they may have 1 additional mini camp.
✔✔Mini Camps For ROOKIES - ✔✔Each club may hold a Post-Draft Rookie Minicamp
on either the 1st or 2nd weekend following the college draft.
✔✔Preseason Mandatory Report Date - ✔✔Players may not report to camp until 47
days prior to the first regular season game, if your week 1 game is Thurs or Sun; 48
days prior if your week 1 game is a Mon. Rookies may report 7 days prior to the
mandatory report date for Veterans.
✔✔Exceptions to Mandatory Report Date - ✔✔The following players may report 20 days
prior to the 1st preseason game: ๏ Quarterbacks ๏ Players on IR list ๏ Players on
PUP/PUP-NFI list ๏ Players injured, or who have had surgery, in the off-season
✔✔Signing Bonus Forfeiture Types - ✔✔The following bonuses may be forfeited due to
conduct or breach: Signing, Roster, Report and Option bonuses.
✔✔Signing Bonus Forfeiture Forfeitable Breaches - ✔✔Willfully fail to report, practice or
play ๏ Unavailable due to incarceration ๏ Unavailable due to non-football injury ๏
Voluntarily retires
✔✔Signing Bonus Forfeiture How Much? - ✔✔Forfeitures are generally limited to be
proportionate to the number of games missed due to the breach. For Report, Roster
, and Option bonuses - a forfeiture occurs only if a breach occurs in the same year as the
bonus was earned.
✔✔Forfeitures Under Drug Program - ✔✔Suspensions under the Drug Policy have their
own forfeiture of bonuses. These would be proportionate to the length of the
suspension.
✔✔A player is on his team's active roster for the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons. During
the 2022 season, he gets cut on the Monday after the 5th game. He is then signed to
the active roster for a different team for Week 17 of the 2022 season and plays that
Sunday. Which of the following is true? - ✔✔The player has 3 credited seasons and 3
accrued seasons A credited season is 3 games on the active/inactive list. An accrued
season is 6 games on active/inactive or IR. Even though the 6 games came with 2
different teams, the total of 6 is all that matters.
✔✔A free agent player signs a contract in 2028 which has the following terms: 5 years,
signing bonus of $5,000,000, P5 Salaries: 2028 - $1,000,000; 2029 - $1,000,000; 2030 -
$2,000,000; 2031 - $3,000,000; 2032 - $4,000,000. This contract will: - ✔✔Be voided for
violating the 30% rule The 30% rule applies to veteran contracts that are entered into in
a capped year that extend into an uncapped year. The rule provides that a player's
salary may not increase more than 30% of the salary in the final capped year.
✔✔Player A is in the 4th year of his rookie contract. A week before the end of the
league year after his 4th season, the team makes him an offer on a new contract which
averages $4,000,000 per year. Per NFLPA rules, you are required to: - ✔✔Notify the
NFLPA Salary Cap and Agent Administration Department Per the NFLPA directive, any
re-negotiation which averages more than $2 million/season requires a contract advisor
to contact the NFLPA SCAA Department.
✔✔In 2020, the undrafted rookie reservation amount per club was: - ✔✔$123,279.This
will be in the source materials you get for the exam.
✔✔A player who is in the substances of abuse program and has his second Failure to
Cooperate violation in Stage 2: - ✔✔A fine of 2/17ths of his Paragraph 5 salary The
difference between a successful completion of Stage 1 and unsuccessful is that your
penalties are always more. This is explicitly laid out in the SOA policy.
✔✔A running back plays only 8 games in 2020 and rushes for 800 yards. His contract
expires and the team wants to give him an NLTBE incentive for rushing yards in 2021.
What is the lowest amount of yards the bonus can start at to be considered NLTBE? -
✔✔801 An NLTBE incentive must be just 1 more (yard, touchdown, interception, etc)
than what the player achieved the year before. It does not matter how many games the
player played.
