To be "waived" in the NFL means that a team has decided to terminate a player's contract but the player is not immediately a free agent. Instead, the player is placed on the "waiver wire," a system that allows other NFL teams to claim the player and assume his current contract. This waiver period typically lasts 24 hours during the season. If no team claims the player within that time, he "clears waivers" and becomes a free agent, free to sign with any team
. Key points about being waived in the NFL:
- Only players with fewer than four accrued NFL seasons are subject to waivers. Players with four or more accrued seasons (vested veterans) are "released" instead and become free agents immediately without going through waivers
- The waiver claim priority is based on the inverse order of teams' records, meaning teams with worse records get the first chance to claim a waived player
- If a team claims a player off waivers, they take on the player's existing contract under the same terms
- Waiver claims are irrevocable; once a team claims a player, they cannot rescind the claim
- The waiver system is designed to promote competitive balance by giving lower-ranked teams priority to acquire players who have been waived
In summary, being waived means a player's contract is terminated but other teams have a chance to claim him before he becomes a free agent, and this process applies mainly to younger players with less than four accrued NFL seasons
