Each team may designate 1 player per offseason as their “Match Eligible Free Agent.” This must be a player with an expired contract who will enter Free Agency. A team may match any free agent offers accepted by the player during Pre-Draft Free Agency.
To do so, each GM creates a thread in the Match Eligible FA forum, with the topic heading of the Team - Player – Position.
You are only able to match the winning bid on a player if a bid is initially placed on him. It is wise to place the minimum the player will accept yourself to avoid this happening and losing the player all together. You may submit a minimum bid as 100K/100K.
Once the contract details are determined, you will be given 24 hours to match or decline the offer.
If you decide to decline the offer given to the player, you will receive compensation in the form of future draft compensation from the player's new team. All selections awarded are for the following season. (For example: You lose a "Match Eligible Free Agent in the 2021 offseason, you will receive an equivalent draft selection in the 2022 GGA draft.)
Draft selections will be transferred from the signing team and are not additional picks, such as compensatory picks in the NFL. A team bidding on a match eligible player should be aware of the prices of potentially winning a designated player, as once the contract is submitted, it is final.
The round of the pick is determined by the first-year contract of the player signed as a "Match Eligible Free Agent". Salary date is as follows:
Match Eligible Compensation Will be announced in the 2025 offseason
If you bid on two or more Match Eligible players within the same salary range, you must have draft equity for both players. If you do not have the necessary draft equity, you will surrender the next highest draft pick if the team declines to match the contract.
Example: You sign a player to 3rd round compensation and the original team declines. You do not have a 2nd or 3rd round pick but hold a 1st round pick. The compensation for that player now becomes a 1st round pick.
If you sign a player and do not have the appropriate compensation AND do not have any higher compensation, the Executive Committee reserves the right to determine appropriate action. Likewise, if you sign multiple players in the match eligible phase and do not have enough draft pick compensation for all of them, but have acceptable compensation for some of them, the Executive Committee will determine how to proceed.