NFL League Calendar Proposed Changes

Mar 27, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; NFL scouts record notes during the forty yard dash during pro day in Columbia. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Per Albert Breer, the NFL has sent a proposal to the NFL Players Association that would alter the way the NFL offseason is currently structured.  The deal would change the offseason calendar so there is a more continuous “flow” of NFL related events even though there is no football going on right now.

The proposal calls for the NFL Scouting Combine to be held at the beginning of March, the start of free agency to be held at the beginning of April, and the NFL Draft to be held in May.  The goal is to use regional combines to ramp up to the actual NFL Scouting Combine and then move to Pro Days and the draft.

According to Breer, “Players and agents already have expressed dissatisfaction with the recent change pushing the beginning of the league year from late February or early March into mid-March, particularly after the new negotiating window implemented this year didn’t produce desired results as the market fell flat.”

As much as I hate the down time in the football offseason, I think it may be a bit rough for players whose contracts are expiring to wait so long before being able to negotiate with teams, move to a new city, and start a new life.  There aren’t many jobs where you’re uprooted every few years and while NFL players have more resources to do that than other jobs that require frequent moves, it’s still an upheaval of their entire lives each time.

– Luke N. Sims

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