The Pittsburgh Steelers 2018 season officially came to an end this past Sunday and with the 2019 New Year now here, it’s time to pass along the NFL’s calendar and important dates for 2019 for all to easily monitor.
The day after Super Bowl LIII is played on February 3 the NFL waiver system begins for the 2019 season. The next big date on the NFL calendar is the start of annual scouting combine in late February and that is obviously followed up by the 2019 NFL Draft in late April.
The official start of the 2019 NFL league year is March 13 and the 2019 regular season will officially get underway on September 5.
Make sure that you bookmark this post for easy reference.
| DATE | SUMMARY |
|---|---|
| January 5-6 | Wild Card Playoff Games. |
| January 6 | Assistant coaches under contract to playoff clubs that have byes in the Wild Card games may be interviewed for head coaching positions through the conclusion of the Wild Card games. |
| January 12-13 | Divisional Playoff Games |
| January 13 | Assistant coaches under contract to playoff clubs that won their Wild Card games may be interviewed for head coaching positions through the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games. |
| January 14 | Deadline for college players who are underclassmen to apply for special eligibility. A list of underclassmen who have been approved for entry into the 2019 NFL Draft will be sent to clubs on January 18. |
| January 19 | East-West Shrine Game, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida. |
| January 19 | NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California. |
| January 20 | AFC and NFC Championship Games. |
| January 26 | Senior Bowl, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama. |
| January 27 | NFL Pro Bowl, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida. |
| January 27 | An assistant coach whose team is participating in the Super Bowl, who has previously interviewed for another club’s head coaching job, may have a second interview with such club no later than the Sunday preceding the Super Bowl. |
| January 31 | Deadline for NFL clubs to try out and negotiate with CFL players who are entering an option year in 2019, or whose 2018 contracts are due to expire at 12:00 noon, New York time, on February 12, 2019. |
| February 3 | Super Bowl LIII, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia. |
| February 4 | Waiver system begins for 2019. |
| February 12 | Beginning at 12:00 noon, New York time, NFL clubs may begin to sign players whose 2019 CFL contracts have expired. Players under contract to a CFL club for the 2019 season or who have an option for the 2019 season are not eligible to be signed. |
| February 19 | First day for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players. |
| February 26-March 4 | NFL Scouting Combine, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana. |
| March 5 | Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players. |
| March 11-13 | Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2018 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 13. |
| March 13 | Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must exercise options for 2019 on all players who have option clauses in their 2018 contracts. |
| March 13 | Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation. |
| March 13 | Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit a minimum salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2018 contracts who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit. |
| March 13 | Top 51 Rule begins. All clubs must be under the 2019 Salary Cap prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time. |
| March 13 | All 2018 player contracts will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time. |
| March 13 | The 2019 league year and free agency period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time. The first day of the 2019 league year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 13. Clubs will receive a personnel notice that will include all transactions submitted to the league office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 13. |
| March 13 | Trading period for 2019 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2018 contracts. |
| March 24-27 | Annual League Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona. |
| April 1 | Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2018 regular season may begin offseason workout programs. |
| April 15 | Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs. |
| April 19 | Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign offer sheets. |
| April 25-27 | 2019 NFL Draft, Nashville, Tennessee. |
| May 3-6 | Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday. |
| May 7 | Deadline for prior club to send “May 7 Tender” to its unsigned Unrestricted Free Agents. If the player has not signed a player contract with a club by July 22 or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later, he may negotiate or sign a player contract from that date until the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, at 4:00 p.m., New York time, only with his prior club. |
| May 10-13 | Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday. |
| May 13 | Rookie Football Development Programs begin. |
| May 16-19 | NFLPA Rookie Premiere. Invited rookies (typically, first and/or second-round selections) must be permitted by their respective clubs to attend. Such players are unavailable for offseason workouts, OTA days, and minicamps during this period. |
| May 20-22 | Spring League Meeting, Key Biscayne, Florida. |
| June 2 | For any player removed from the club’s roster or whose contract is assigned via waivers or trade on or after June 2, any unamortized signing bonus amounts for future years will be included fully in team salary at the start of the 2020 league year. |
| June 3 | Deadline for prior club to send “June 1 Tender” to its unsigned Restricted Free Agents who received a qualifying offer for a right of first refusal only in order for such player to be subject to the CBA’s “June 15 Tender” provision. |
| June 15 | Deadline for club to withdraw qualifying offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting “June 15 Tender” of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player’s prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged). |
| Late June | Rookie Transition Program to be held at individual clubs. Attendance is mandatory for all 2019 rookies. |
| July 15 | At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a oneyear contract with his prior club for the 2019 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game. |
| Mid-July | Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies and first-year players beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for veteran players. Veteran players (defined as a player with at least one pension-credited season) other than quarterbacks or “injured players” (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may report to a club’s preseason training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club’s first scheduled preseason game or July 15, whichever is later. Veteran quarterbacks and injured players may be required to report to the club’s preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all rookies and first-year players A three-day acclimation period will apply to players who are on a club’s roster up to and including the mandatory veteran reporting date. Players who rejoin the roster after that date may practice (including wearing pads) and play immediately after passing a physical. |
| July 22* | Signing period ends for Unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “May 7 Tender” was made by prior club. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights. * or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later. |
| July 22 | Signing period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights. |
| August 1 | Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio. |
| August 1-4 | Hall of Fame Weekend, Canton, Ohio. |
| August 6 | Deadline for players under contract to report to their clubs to earn an accrued season for free agency. |
| August 6 | If a drafted rookie has not signed with his club by this date, he cannot be traded to any other club in 2019, and may sign a player contract only with the drafting club until the day of the Draft in the 2020 league year. |
| August 31 | Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the Active/Inactive List. |
| August 31 | Simultaneously with the cut-down to 53, clubs that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/NonFootball Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the Active List. |
| September 1 | Claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at 12:00 noon, New York time. |
| September 1 | Upon receipt of the Personnel Notice at approximately 1:00 p.m., New York time, clubs may establish a practice squad of 10 players (clubs participating in the International Player Development Program may sign one additional international player to a Practice Player Contract.) No club, including the player’s prior club, will be permitted to sign a player to a practice player contract until all clubs have received simultaneous notification via the above Personnel Notice that such player’s prior NFL player contract has been terminated via the waiver system. |
| September 5 | At 12:00 a.m., New York time, the Top 51 Rule expires for all NFL clubs. |
| September 5, 8-9 | Regular Season Week 1. |
