Alright, let’s talk about this NFL waiver thing, ya know? It’s kinda like when you’re sellin’ off extra chickens at the market, but with football players instead. It ain’t as simple as just yellin’ “who wants ’em?”, though. There’s rules and such.
So, first off, what’s a waiver anyway? Well, when a team don’t want a player no more, they gotta put him on this thing called “waivers.” Think of it like puttin’ him up for grabs. But not just anybody can grab him right away. There’s a whole process, like waitin’ in line at the post office.
Now, who gets to be on waivers? Mostly the young’uns. See, if a player ain’t been in the NFL for four years or more, he goes on waivers. The older fellas, the ones who’ve been around the block a few times, they get to just be free agents. They can go sign with any team they want, lickety-split.
- Young players (less than 4 years in the NFL): Waivers
- Old players (4+ years in the NFL): Free Agents
Okay, so a player’s on waivers. Now what? Well, all the other teams get a chance to “claim” him. It’s like puttin’ in a bid at an auction, but ‘stead of money, it’s about who gets dibs. And the teams with the worst records get to pick first. Makes sense, right? The teams that are doin’ poorly get a chance to get better players.
This whole waiver thing happens pretty darn fast. Usually, it’s all done overnight, between 3 and 5 in the mornin’, Eastern Time. That’s when they figure out who gets which player. If nobody claims a player, then he becomes a free agent and can sign with anybody. Just like them old fellas I was talkin’ about earlier.
And get this, once a team puts a player on waivers, they can’t just take him back. It’s a done deal. No takin’ backsees, like when you trade a cow for a pig and then regret it later. It’s “no recall” and “no withdrawal,” they call it. Fancy words for “what’s done is done.”
Now, this waiver order thing, it’s kinda like how they do the draft. You know, when they pick new players outta college? The worse your team did last season, the higher you are in the waiver order. So, if your team was terrible, you get to pick first. It’s like gettin’ first dibs on the best tomatoes at the farmer’s market.
But there’s a little difference between the real NFL and that fantasy football stuff. In the real NFL the waiver order is decided by the teams’ records. In fantasy football, the order is the reverse of the draft order, so the guy who picked last gets the first waiver pick. It’s a little backwards, if you ask me.
So, let’s say a player gets waived early in the week, before Tuesday. Then they use the records from the whole season to line up the teams, from worst to best. All 32 teams, lined up like chickens at feedin’ time. And that’s how they decide who gets first pick.
Why do they even have waivers? Well, it’s supposed to keep things fair. Keeps the rich teams from just gobblin’ up all the good players. Gives the weaker teams a chance to get better. It ain’t perfect, mind you, but that’s the idea.
So, there you have it. That’s how waivers work in the NFL, as far as I can tell. It’s a bit complicated, but it’s just like anything else in life, once you get the hang of it, it ain’t so bad. It’s all about who gets what player, and when. And remember, the worse your team, the better your chances of gettin’ a good player off waivers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go feed them chickens.
Tags: [NFL, Waivers, NFL Transactions, Football, Player Contracts, Free Agency, NFL Rules, Sports]
