UM NFLers who will become free agents after the season:

Actually, they aren't 'stuck' in contracts, but there are several caveats to the 'uncapped year' for the players: First, some players who would have been unrestricted free agents after this year, only become restricted free agents. The shift in becoming totally unrestricted goes from 4 years to 6 years. Only players with 6 credited seasons or more will become totally free to sign with anyone without any right of matching from the current club. Basically it gives the team the ability to match any offer sheet from another team if they have less than 6 years of services in the League. If the team does not match, the player would go to the new team, however the team getting them would forfeit draft picks to the team losing the player off their roster. The compensation depends on the player and the tender the team places on them by a certain date. Some players who would be highly sought after, like a Marlin Jackson, might be as high as a first AND third round pick...VERY steep. Second, there are rules for the final 8 teams in the playoffs. Now that we know they are Ari, Bal, Dal, Ind, Min, NO, NYJ, SD...these teams cannot sign any free agents until they lose a free agent. There are a lot of other transition rules that have an effect on the players. The 'Uncapped' year sounds like a money grab for players, but in reality the rules in place will give a lot of sting to both sides to force a deal to be worked out. Teams won't have an endless supply of money to sign players, so you won't see a version of the Yankees in the NFL.