Free Agency was introduced to the AFL competition in 2012 and the eligibility criteria was updated in 20019 to include the following scenarios;

• The condition that a player must have come out of contract after eight years to then qualify for Unrestricted Free Agency at 10 years has been removed (irrespective of when a player had signed his previous contract, all ten-year players are Unrestricted Free Agents);
• A Player who at any time becomes or has previously become a Free Agent will be a Free Agent at the end of each subsequent Standard Playing Contract. Furthermore, they will be considered an Unrestricted Free Agent regardless of their ranking on the Club’s Primary List; and
• Any Player taken in the 2019 Mid-Season Rookie Draft, who was previously delisted by an AFL Club, has been included on the 2019 Free Agency List.