Offer sheet

Lore & Background

In North American professional sports, an offer sheet is a contract given to a restricted free agent by a team other than the one he played for the previous season. How each league handles these offers varies.

**NHL** In the National Hockey League, a restricted (Group 2) free agent can start talking to other teams about a new contract the day after that year’s entry draft, which is also the deadline for his current team to make a qualifying offer. Those discussions must stop if the player signs a deal with his own team or if he is confirmed to enter arbitration (whether filed by the player or the team). If a player signs an offer sheet and his original team decides not to match it, that team gets draft pick compensation based on the contract’s average yearly salary. These compensation amounts were first set for the 2005 offseason under the new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, and they increase each year by the same percentage as the average salary of all NHL players.

A team cannot have two different players sign offer sheets at the same time if the value of those contracts would require any of the same draft picks as compensation. For instance, if a restricted free agent signs a deal worth at least $11,939,166 per year, the team can only offer other restricted free agents contracts worth less than $4,775,666 per year, since those wouldn’t require a first-round pick as compensation. Also, if a team doesn’t have a pick in the next upcoming draft that would be needed for compensation, it cannot make an offer in that salary range. Teams cannot use draft picks they’ve acquired in trades for this purpose, but having extra picks from trades can influence whether a team decides to submit an offer sheet.

Before the 2004–05 lockout, teams could spend as much or as little as they wanted, so most offer sheets were matched. This made offers to restricted free agents rare, as general managers wanted to avoid bad feelings—no offer sheets were made in the six years before the lockout. Starting with the 2005 CBA, the salary cap forced teams to spend money more carefully, making it more likely that a general manager would offer a contract to a younger player with potential if his own team didn’t see enough value to match. This also leads teams to sign their own players to long-term deals before they become restricted free agents, possibly locking them in at a lower rate. Contracts cannot be renegotiated under the current CBA. A benefit for a player whose team matches an offer sheet is that he cannot be traded for the next calendar year.

Since the 2004–05 lockout, twelve restricted free agents have signed offer sheets, and only four players have changed teams as a result: Dustin Penner (before the 2007–08 season), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (before the 2021–22 season), and Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg (before the 2024–25 season). These four are also the only players since 1997 (Chris Gratton) to switch teams via an offer sheet. The risk of real and cap dollars, along with the negative reaction from other teams, has made signing an offer sheet rare under the current CBA.

**NBA** In the National Basketball Association, an offer sheet is a contract offered by another team to a restricted free agent for at least one year. His current team has two days to match the offer or lose the player to the new team. Unlike the NHL, NBA offer sheets do not require the new team to give up a draft pick or any other compensation.

**NFL** In the National Football League, an offer sheet is an offer made by another team to a restricted free agent. If the player accepts, his old club has a five-day “right of first refusal” period to match the offer and keep him. If it chooses not to match, it may receive one or more draft picks from the new club for the upcoming draft. If an offer sheet is not executed, the player’s rights go back to his old club the day after negotiations must end.

Reader's Guide

Since the 2004-05 lockout, only twelve restricted free agents have signed offer sheets, and only four players have changed teams as the result of an offer sheet: Dustin Penner prior to the 2007–08 season, Jesperi Kotkaniemi before the 2021–22 season, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg before the 2024–25 season. These four are also the only players since 1997 (Chris Gratton) to change teams via an offer sheet. The risk invested in real and cap dollars along with the negative reaction to an offer sheet has led to the act of signing an offer sheet becoming rare under the current CBA. In the NBA, an offer sheet does not require a team to relinquish a draft pick or other compensation, and the current team has two days to match. In the NFL, if the restricted free agent accepts an offer sheet, his old club has a five-day period to match or receive draft picks; if no offer sheet is executed, the player's rights revert to his old club the day after negotiations must end.

Did You Know?

• Only four players have changed teams via an NHL offer sheet since the 2004-05 lockout: Dustin Penner, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Dylan Holloway, and Philip Broberg.
• A player whose current team matches an offer sheet cannot be traded for the next calendar year.
• There were no offer sheets made in the six years prior to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.