0 (in US sports) a contract that is offered by a sports team to a restricted free agent (= a player who can only accept a contract with another team in certain situations) from a different team:
Teams are free to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets, but their current teams have the right of first refusal, with one week to match those deals.
The Warriors matched Houston's offer sheet to free agent Marc Jackson.
New England has decided not to match the Jets' six-year, $36 million offer sheet to the running back.
He, like many other restricted free agents, didn't receive an offer sheet from another team, allowing the Hawks to give him a "take or leave it" offer.
