free agency question?

Question

what happens if a player 'eligble to file for free agency', doesn't. what becomes of him and his contract status?

so why do they have to file for free agency as opposed to just becoming free agents.

ty jimmfo. Its something I've always wondered. You don't hear this phrase/term in the other 3 major sports, there they are just free agents automaticly.

Answer 1

If a player doesn't file for free agency, his former team still controls his rights. He has no contract but he is not free to negotiate with other teams.

This does happen in other sports also - Dennis Northcutt and Terrell Owens both missed the NFL filing deadline in 2003. Northcutt was thus forced to stay in Cleveland, while Owens was traded to Baltimore and eventually Philadelphia.

Answer 2

thats a very good question. im thinking it is more of a 'formality"...where a player states, and essentially lays claim to his right to become a free agent.

i would imagine if an eligible player fails to file for free agency in the allotted time frme, that he at least for a time, will lose some of his freedoms and/or options. his "current" team could tender him a contract with a pay cut (there are rules limiting the amount of a cut a player can recieve) and he could possibly be forced to accept it, or retire from the game for a year sitting out a full season.

in most cases though, should a player not file for free agency, i would think his "current" team would probably not tender him a contract, thus eventually making him a free agent anyways.

Answer 3

Basically, filing for free agency means that the player has the right to negotiate with other teams. If they don't, then they have to stay with their current team unless that team refuses to resign them or offer them arbitration.

Answer 4

has no contract hence free "agent"