"FUTURES" CONTRACTS- WHAT THEY ARE & MEAN - PANTHERS SIGNINGS

So... What exactly are "Futures" contracts? The name is helpful, but how and why are they used.? You hear about them every year. I THOUGHT I understood, .... but NOPE. There's more to it than .... well, I'll let someone else explain it.

I'm 'stealing' this explanation (with full disclosure(and proper attribution..)) from a Steelers guy. It's well done and since there is no reason to re-invent the wheel ... As near as I can tell, it's pretty accurate. The actual rules as written by the NFL can be pretty obscure, so let's go with this.

Credit to: Dave Schofield @STLRSuperFanDad - STLRSuperFanDad Talks Futures Contracts

Futures contracts

Following the conclusion of an NFL regular season, there will be numerous announcements of a team signing players to a Reserve/Future contract (also referred to as a futures contract). As the word future indicates, this is a contract that does not count until later on.

At the conclusion of the regular season, players on the team’s 53-man roster remain there until the start of the next league year. There are times where players are released, often for salary cap purposes, ahead of the new league year and they become street free agents. This will be another upcoming topic. The focus for today is on the players who aren’t on a 53-man roster when the regular season concludes.

Whether a player is on the practice squad of a team whose season is over or simply a free agent, they are free to sign with any NFL team for the following year. But since rosters are locked when a team season is over, these players signed a type of contract, a Reserve/Future contract, where they do not count on the teams salary cap or roster count until the beginning of the league year. Once a player signs one of these contracts, the are on the NFL’s Reserve/Future List and they are not free to negotiate with other teams as they are under contract even though the league year has not kicked in. Teams can sign as many players to futures contracts as they choose as long as it does not put them over the 90-man limit that takes effect the first day of the new league year.

Where can a player sign?

When a player finishes the season on a practice squad, they are not obligated to the team once they finish the season. They may sign a Reserve/Future contract with any NFL team. So while a franchise cannot sign another player from another team’s practice squad to their own practice squad during the season, they can sign players from another team’s practice squad and sign them to a futures contract at the conclusion of the season.

While in many cases it is advantageous for a player to sign a futures contract, some players may wait until the free agency agency. This may make sense for a player who is a vested veteran but did not finish the year on a 53-man roster of a team, generally these type of players are better off finding their home early before teams have the opportunity to sign high-profile free agents when the league year begins.

Salary

Although there is no limitation to the contract a player can sign for a Reserve/Future contract, they are generally for the league minimum amount depending on the player’s credited seasons. While there is nothing stopping teams from including a signing bonus for a futures contract, they are more the exception than the rule.

Next Up... Panthers signings to Futures Contracts.

The Panthers have signed the following players to reserve/future deals this offseason:

RB Emani Bailey
WR T.J. Luther
WR Dax Milne
TE Dominique Dafney
TE Jordan Matthews
TE James Mitchell
G Ja’Tyre Carter
G Brandon Walton
C Andrew Raym
DL Jerrod Clark
OLB Carlos Basham
LB Kenny Dyson
LB Thomas Incoom

Some of these guys will be familiar for a reason. Some were previously on the Panthers roster somewhere. Such as Jordan Matthews; Andrew Raym, etc.

The latest signing to a "Futures" contract is a kicker. Announced Tuesday, the Panthers have signed kicker, Matthew Wright. Wright had previously been rostered by the Panthers when Pineiro had a groin strain in 2023 and later again when Pineiro sustained a hamstring injury. Last year, Wright converted 15 of 16 FG attempts and all 6 PATs while kicking for three different teams.... 49ers, Chiefs, and Titans.

PANTHERS WIRE:  https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2025/0...y-pineiro/

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Also:

Panthers sign big WR on Tuesday

The Carolina Panthers have signed another player to a reserve/future deal.

As announced on Tuesday morning, the team has added wide receiver Brycen Tremayne. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound pass catcher has spent the last two seasons with the Washington Commanders.

A Los Angeles, Calif. native, Tremayne played his college ball at Stanford University from 2018 to 2022. He tallied 74 receptions for 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns over 35 games for the Cardinal.

His time at Stanford, in addition, intersected with that of current Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik. Idzik served as a graduate assistant for the program during Tremayne’s first year in 2018.

Tremayne then cracked into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Washington in 2023. He has appeared in two games.


PANTHERS WIRE:  https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2025/0...-tremayne/

Good info Hobs....thanks.

The kicker is interesting since they already know him.

Good info Hobs....thanks.

The kicker is interesting since they already know him.

Yep, welcome.

I remember Matthew Wright, but I don't remember how he kicked. His numbers look pretty good from last year. I wonder if he attempted any longer FGs??

Interesting also was the re-signing of Jordan Matthews (TE) and Andrew Raym ( C ). Of course, a lot of these signings are just camp fodder for practice. It helps if they have some familiarity with the schemes and play calls. So the previous Panther players are not TOO much of a surprise.

Good info Hobs....thanks.

The kicker is interesting since they already know him.

Yep, welcome.

I remember Matthew Wright, but I don't remember how he kicked. His numbers look pretty good from last year. I wonder if he attempted any longer FGs??

Interesting also was the re-signing of Jordan Matthews (TE) and Andrew Raym ( C ). Of course, a lot of these signings are just camp fodder for practice. It helps if they have some familiarity with the schemes and play calls. So the previous Panther players are not TOO much of a surprise.

Mathews got some game time I think.

Good info Hobs....thanks.

The kicker is interesting since they already know him.

Yep, welcome.

I remember Matthew Wright, but I don't remember how he kicked. His numbers look pretty good from last year. I wonder if he attempted any longer FGs??

Interesting also was the re-signing of Jordan Matthews (TE) and Andrew Raym ( C ). Of course, a lot of these signings are just camp fodder for practice. It helps if they have some familiarity with the schemes and play calls. So the previous Panther players are not TOO much of a surprise.

Mathews got some game time I think.

Thanks for the info bud.  Much appreciated.