Quite simply the 72 hour waiver period for all released contracts isn't worth the administrative effort. No-one is making claims on these players, and since we can assume that our GM's would make every attempt to deal a player that has any value, we can presume that not many players worth claiming will ever be available via waiver.
This means from now on you can release any contract and get the buyout rate without having to wait the 72 hours.
Waivers still apply for Flex moves.