Voluntary offseason workout programs are intended to provide training, teaching and physical conditioning for players.
As per Article 21 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each club’s official, voluntary nine-week offseason program is conducted in three phases:
Article 22 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that clubs may hold one mandatory minicamp for veteran players. This minicamp, noted below, must occur during Phase Three of the offseason program.
New head coaches are entitled to conduct an additional voluntary veteran minicamp. Voluntary minicamps for veteran players were conducted prior to the NFL Draft, but no earlier than week three of the club’s offseason workout program and after at least one week of the two weeks of Phase One activities that the clubs may hold pursuant to Article 21. This year, five clubs held voluntary veteran minicamps, as noted below.
Each club may hold a rookie football development program for a period of seven weeks, which in 2017 may begin on May 15. During this period, no activities may be held on weekends, with the exception of one post-NFL Draft rookie minicamp, which may be conducted on either the first or second weekend following the draft. The dates of each club’s post-draft rookie minicamps are noted below.
The NFL Rookie Transition Program is the most comprehensive onboarding of rookies in sports. Learn more.
For specific information and detailed offseason program rules, please see Articles 21 and 22 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (beginning on page 131), available here.
Click here to see every team's 2017 NFL Offseason Workout Program calendar.