In the NFL, when a player is "waived," it means the team is terminating the player's contract but the player does not immediately become 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 existing contract within a 24-hour period. If no team claims the player during this waiver period, the player then becomes an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team
. The key factor determining whether a player is waived or released is their accrued NFL experience:
- Players with fewer than four accrued seasons (typically younger or less experienced players) are waived and subject to the waiver wire process.
- Players with four or more accrued seasons, known as vested veterans, are released outright, meaning their contract is immediately terminated and they become free agents without going through waivers
The waiver priority order is generally based on the inverse order of the teams' records, giving teams with worse records the first chance to claim waived players
. In summary:
- Waived : Player with less than four accrued seasons, contract is terminated but player goes through waiver wire for 24 hours to be claimed by other teams.
- Released : Player with four or more accrued seasons, contract terminated immediately, player becomes free agent right away
