As 2023 NFL free agency approaches, Broncos Wire has discussed the differences between unrestricted free agents and restricted free agents. Today, we’ll take a quick look at a third category: exclusive rights free agents.
Exclusive rights free agents (ERFAs) have no leverage in negotiations. They are players with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expiring contract. Teams can offer their in-house ERFAs one-year, league-minimum contracts.
If an ERFA player is offered a league-minimum tender by his club, he is not eligible to negotiate with other teams. If his original club declines to offer him an ERFA tender, though, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
This year, the Denver Broncos have four ERFAs, most notably including inside linebacker Jonas Griffith. A one-year ERFA tender for a player with two accrued seasons like Griffith is worth $940,000 in 2023.
That would mark an increase from Griffith’s $825,000 salary last year while also representing a bargain for the Broncos after the linebacker started eight games in 2022. The deadline to place tenders on ERFAs this year is 2 p.m. MT on March 16.
