NFL trade deadline 2023: What are waivers? What happens to waived players?
The NFL’s trade deadline is fast approaching and with the need to understand how it all works. With that, we’ve got you covered with the breakdown.
Player movement in the NFL is currently in the spotlight because of the trade deadline which falls at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, 31st October. Some players may get to move to the team they want to, while others won’t be so lucky - they may end up being cut by the organization. Although the league franchises are powerful and have a lot of say in what happens to members of the team, the players are offered some protection in the form of the collective bargaining agreement or CBA which is drawn up by the NFL and the NFL Player Association.
The waiver process
One thing provided for by the CBA in its rules is the matter of waivers. NFL teams can waive players if they believe that the athletes’ abilities have diminished. A player can be waived when his contract has not yet run out, and he may find himself on a new deadline through the waiver process.
(Being waived is different from being released. Read more on the differences between the two.)
The trade deadline has a part to play in what happens to a player who is waived. If the franchise subjects the player to it between February 1 and November 1 (the cut-off date), then the player may hold talks with any team of his choice and agree on a new contract with them.
However, if the team decides to waive after the deadline, the player will undergo the waiver claim process, which is carried out according to the standings in reverse order. This means that the NFL team with the worst record gets first pick on all waiver claims. This procedure gives players more rights, depending on whether or not their contracts contain a no-trade clause.