FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL-2                      2/12/99

FREE AGENCY SIGNING PERIOD BEGINS;
471 PLAYERS BECOME FREE AGENTS

The National Football League today announced that 471 players are free agents who now can negotiate with all 31 clubs.

The free agents include six players who this year have been designated by their clubs as "franchise" players and three who have been named as "transition" players. Franchise and transition players are special categories for restricted and unrestricted free agents. The deadline for making these designations for 1999 was February 11.

1999 FRANCHISE/TRANSITION PLAYER DESIGNATIONS

In 1998, 11 players were designated as franchise players and five as transition players.

There are two types of franchise players. Clubs retain exclusive negotiating rights to an "exclusive" franchise player by committing to a minimum offer of the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of the end of the restricted free agent signing period on April 12 or a 20 percent salary increase, whichever is greater. No player has been designated an exclusive franchise player this year. The second type of franchise player is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at his position in the 1998 season, or a 20 percent salary increase, whichever is greater. This latter type of franchise player may negotiate with other clubs. The original club may match the offer and retain the player, or receive two first-round draft choices as compensation if the original club elects not to match.

Each club is permitted one franchise designation in any year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If the player signs a multiyear contract while under this designation, the club exhausts its franchise player rights for each year of that contract unless it matched another club's offer for that player, in which case the designation is used only for that year. Any club which elected not to use its franchise player designation in 1999 retains franchise designation rights for 2000 and subsequent years of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, provided the club did not exhaust those rights from a previously signed franchise player.

Also, a club may designate a transition player in lieu of a franchise player in any year when the franchise designation is available. A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match an offer sheet given to the player by another club. To designate a transition player, the club must offer a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of 1998 at the player's position or a 20 percent salary increase, whichever is greater.

In the event a player retires, suffers a career-ending injury or is otherwise unavailable due to non-football circumstances, a club has the right to designate another franchise or transition player for the remaining years covered by the club's prior designation.

A club may withdraw a franchise or transition designation at any time. The player becomes an unrestricted free agent when that withdrawal occurs.

Unrestricted veteran free agents are players who have completed four or more accrued seasons of service and whose contracts have expired. They are free to sign with any club through July 15. On July 16, their exclusive rights will revert to their original club if that club makes a June 1 tender to these players. Teams will have until the 10th week of the season (November 16) to sign their unrestricted veteran free agents to whom a tender was made on June 1. If the player does not sign by November 16, he must sit out the remainder of the season.

Restricted free agents are players who have completed three accrued seasons of service and whose contracts have expired. They have received qualifying offers from their old clubs and will be free to negotiate with any club until April 12 at which time their rights will revert to their original club. If a player accepts an offer from a new club, the old club will have the right to match the offer and retain the player. If the old club elects not to match the offer, it may receive draft-choice compensation depending on the level of the qualifying offer made to the player.

The signing period for unrestricted free agents, franchise players and transition players this year begins February 12 and concludes on July 15. The signing period for restricted free agents begins February 12 and concludes on April 12.

Following is a list of free agents by club in six different categories:

a) 135 restricted free agents received qualifying offers from their old clubs and are subject to the first refusal/ compensation system of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The old club has a right of first refusal to all players listed below. Compensation is as listed in the column on the right. If the old club has a right of first refusal but is not entitled to any compensation, the designation "first refusal" appears in the column. In order to submit an offer sheet, a new club must have available the required choice or choices, defined as its own or better choices in the applicable rounds, in the 1999 NFL Draft. Offer sheets may be submitted to players in this category no later than 11:59 p.m., New York time, on Monday, April 12.

b) 6 players with four or more accrued seasons have been designated as franchise players. The old club has a right of first refusal to the players listed below and compensation of two No. 1 draft choices. In order to submit an offer sheet, a new club must have available the required choices, defined as its own or better choices in the first round in the 1999 and 2000 NFL Drafts (or 2001, if applicable). Offer sheets may be submitted to players in this category until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on July 15.

c) 3 players with four or more accrued seasons have been designated as transition players. The old club has a right of first refusal but no right of compensation to the players listed below. Offer sheets may be submitted to an old club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on July 15.

d) 1 player with four or more accrued seasons has an individually negotiated right of first refusal with his old club. The old club has a right of first refusal but no right of compensation to the player listed below. Offer sheets may be submitted to an old club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on July 15.

e) 304 players with four or more accrued seasons are unrestricted free agents. The players in this category may be signed by any club in the league through July 15, with no rights of any type held by the old club.

f) There are 22 players for whom options for the 1999 season were not exercised or who had fewer than four accrued seasons and received no qualifying offer or no minimum tender from their old club. The players in this category may be signed immediately with no rights of any type held by the old club. There is no signing deadline applicable to these players.