NFL pushes trade deadline back one week

The deadline had been one week earlier in previous years, and a December report indicated a change was unlikely. However, the Browns and other teams proposed pushing it back two weeks to accommodate the expansion of the regular season to 17 games (and the hypothetical move to an 18-game slate in the future). Little support seemed to emerge for that plan.

A compromise in the form of delaying the deadline by one week emerged, although debate continued over whether any change was necessary. Given today’s news, though, enough opinions were swayed to approve the middle ground solution. Any rule changes require the support of at least 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners to attain ratification.

The NFL’s trade deadline will remain much earlier in the season than its ‘Big Four’ (NBA, MLB, NHL) counterparts, with resistance to delays stemming from concerns about tanking. Indeed, the later in the campaign the deadline is pushed, the clearer the separation between buyers and sellers. Maintaining competitive balance as deep into the season as possible is a reasonable goal on the part of the league.

Still, trades have increased in recent years with teams becoming more willing to move on from expiring contracts on one hand and to acquire rentals for a late-season push on the other. One key element on that front is the fact acquiring teams only need to take on the remaining base salaries in a player’s contract when an in-season deal is worked out; pushing back the time at which deadline deals take place will make it easier for contenders to absorb lucrative pacts.

Each of the past five seasons have seen a minimum of 12 in-season trades take place as teams become increasingly open to player- and pick-swaps in the fall. 22 teams were involved in deals during both the 2022 and ’23 campaigns, with a wide range of buyers and sellers existing. That figure will no doubt continue (or increase) for 2024 with a slightly later deadline in place.