NBA qualifying offers: deadlines, matching and restricted free agency

Tendering, accepting and signing an offer sheet

1. The prior team tenders a qualifying offer. It delivers a team-signed contract offer on the required terms. That preserves matching rights for an eligible restricted free agent.
2. The player accepts that qualifying offer. He returns to the prior team on its one-year contract, subject to the CBA’s acceptance and physical-examination provisions.
3. The player signs an offer sheet with another team. This starts the matching process after delivery to the prior team. It is a different contract from the qualifying offer.

The player can also negotiate a new contract with his prior team. An offer sheet normally covers at least two seasons excluding option years, and cannot be a two-way contract. The optional Maximum Qualifying Offer is a distinct five-season maximum-salary offer for specified rookie-scale players. Tendering both it and the ordinary offer raises the offer-sheet minimum to three seasons excluding options. Article XI §1(e), printed page 312; §4(a), pages 318–319; §5(b), page 322.

Who can receive a qualifying offer?

The familiar case is a first-round pick completing the fourth year of his rookie-scale contract. Other veteran free agents with three or fewer Years of Service as of June 30 can also qualify, with an exception for unexercised rookie-scale options. Players finishing two-way contracts form a separate eligibility category. A contract end date alone does not establish restricted status. Article XI §4(a)–(b), pages 318–319.

Qualifying offer deadlines: June 29 is not October 1

June 29, 5 p.m. Eastern: initial tender

The prior team must make the qualifying offer by this deadline. An eligible player becomes restricted on July 1.

July 13: unilateral withdrawal cutoff

The team may withdraw the offer through July 13. Later withdrawal requires the player’s written agreement. Withdrawal makes the player unrestricted immediately; withdrawal on or after July 14 also counts as renouncing the player.

October 1: ordinary acceptance deadline

The player ordinarily has through October 1 to accept, unless the offer was lawfully withdrawn or extended. This provision does not specify a time of day.

Before October 1: extension notice

The team must give written notice before October 1 to extend acceptance. There may be multiple extensions, but acceptance cannot extend beyond March 1 following issuance.

An expired, unaccepted qualifying offer does not make the player unrestricted. The CBA explicitly preserves the prior team’s right of first refusal after expiration. Expiration and withdrawal have different consequences. These are agreement rules, not confirmation that any named player has an outstanding offer or a particular extension. Article XI §4(c), printed page 320.

How long does a team have to match an offer sheet?

The clock depends on when the prior team receives the offer sheet, using Eastern time:

• Before noon: the deadline is 11:59 p.m. the next day.
• At or after noon: the deadline is 11:59 p.m. two days later.
• During the moratorium: the deadline is 11:59 p.m. July 7 immediately following that moratorium.

For example, outside the moratorium, Monday at 10 a.m. means a Tuesday 11:59 p.m. deadline; Monday at 2 p.m. means Wednesday 11:59 p.m. These illustrate the rule and do not describe real transactions. A flat “48 hours” misses the receipt-time distinction. Article XI §5(g), printed page 325; §5(i), page 326.

Matching creates a contract with the prior team on the offer sheet’s Principal Terms. Declining or missing the deadline creates the contract with the new team, subject to the agreement’s physical-examination provisions. An offer sheet is therefore not the same as an immediately completed change of team. Article XI §5(e)–(l), pages 324–331.

How much is a qualifying offer, and is it guaranteed?

There is no universal salary. A rookie-scale offer uses the scale’s applicable percentage and playing-time adjustments. Other non-two-way cases generally use 135% of prior salary and corresponding bonus components, or 125% for a prior contract signed before the 2023–24 Salary Cap Year, subject to the applicable minimum-plus-$200,000 floor and possible starter-criteria adjustments. A player-specific amount needs the underlying contract and eligibility facts. Article XI §1(e)(ii), pages 312–314; §1(e)(iv), pages 315–316.

An ordinary qualifying offer protects 100% of Base Compensation for lack of skill and injury or illness. But players finishing two-way contracts have different offer and protection rules: depending on their contract history and eligibility, the offer can be a two-way contract or a standard minimum contract with the specified partial protection. Do not apply an old season’s fixed guarantee to a current offer. Required physical examinations and the CBA’s acceptance rules still matter. Article XI §1(e)(iii), pages 314–315; §1(e)(v), pages 316–317. See our two-way contract guide.

What happens after the player accepts?

Next summer’s free agency

For the familiar player coming off a completed four-year rookie-scale contract, playing out the one-year qualifying offer normally leads to unrestricted free agency the next summer. That is not a universal promise: another standard-contract player might still have three or fewer Years of Service, and finishing a two-way contract is a separate eligibility branch. Article XI §4(b), printed page 319.

Trade consent is conditional

The one-year contract rule protects eligible non-two-way players who would finish as Bird or Early Bird free agents: a trade needs consent unless the player and team agreed at signing to eliminate that right. A trade under that consent or waiver generally breaks continuity for those rights. An accepted qualifying offer is not automatically an unwaivable no-trade clause, and ordinary trade timing restrictions still apply. Article VII §8(b), pages 260–261.

Matching an offer sheet has a separate rule: for one year, a trade requires the player’s consent, and a trade to the offer-sheet team is prohibited even with consent. Article XI §5(j), pages 326–327.

Compare these protections with negotiated no-trade clauses and the other NBA trade-consent rights.

For short-term signings, read how NBA 10-day contracts work.

Continue with salary-cap and apron rules, listed 2027 contract expirations or reported transactions.

Editorial review: October 1, 2026. Primary authority: the 2023 NBA–NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Linked PDF pages include its front matter; the citations also give the agreement’s printed page numbers. This guide explains the reviewed rules and does not assign contract or free-agent status to individual players.

NBPA agreement link and reviewed document last checked: October 7, 2026, 23:49 UTC.