The NFL's legal tampering window opened Monday at noon, signaling that the official start of free agency is right around the corner.
During the following 52 hours, teams can start communicating and negotiating with agents who represent unrestricted free agents. Those talks often lead to verbal agreements before free agency technically begins at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
The tampering period does have a few rules, though. Teams are not allowed to contact restricted or exclusive rights free agents, and all negotiations have to be done entirely through representatives, not players. Also, players cannot make visits to teams until free agency officially opens, nor can teams sign players or announce the agreements.
If teams break any of the tampering window rules, they could suffer consequences ranging from fines to loss of draft picks.
