Nippon Professional Baseball earlier this week announced that it will present a proposal to the players' association aimed at shortening the free-agency period to seven years for players drafted out of college and the industrial leagues and eight years for players drafted out of high school beginning with the upcoming draft.
One of the more interesting things, however, is the "overseas free-agency" provision that is reported to be included in the proposal.
This rule states that despite the shortened free-agency period, a player would still have to wait nine seasons before qualifying to become an "overseas-bound" free-agent.