It’s Tagging Time

The window for NFL teams to use the franchise tag on one of their soon-to-be free agents opened yesterday. It closes on March 3. The franchise tag is a desperate tool to inhibit the movement of a prized free agent. There are two versions of the franchise tag. The “exclusive” tag prevents the tagged player from negotiating with another team. Unless the tagged player is traded, he’s staying put if the exclusive tag is slapped on him. The “non-exclusive” tag allows the tagged player to sign with another team. The player can sign with another team if that team is willing to pay the steep cost of two first-round draft picks. There’s also the rarely used transition tag. There was a time when the lesser tag was occasionally used. The transition tag simply gives the tagging team the right of first refusal. Essentially, a team is allowing another team to do the negotiation for them. Anyway, it’s tagging time.

If a player does get slapped with a tag, team and player have until July 15 to come to an agreement on a long-term deal. If not, the player gets a single-season, guaranteed deal that represents the average of the top-five salaries at each position.

Franchise Tag Numbers:

QB - $47.4 million

WR - $28.0 million

OL - $27.8 million

LB - $27.6 million

DT - $27.4 million

DE - $26.7 million

CB - $20.8 million

S - $20.8 million

TE - $16.0 million

RB - $14.2 million

K/P - $6.8 million

There’s so much that’s messed up about the above numbers. To start, the offensive line should be broken down by position. The geniuses do that with the defensive line. Speaking of the defensive line, since the big contract numbers on defense go to the pass rushers, defensive ends should be combined with 3-4 outside linebackers to form an edge rusher group. Further, combining 3-4 outside linebackers with the off-the-ball linebackers is absurd. Finally, I can’t imagine the incredibly coincidental math that shoots out the same tag numbers for corners and safeties. 

There once was a time when running back was right behind quarterbacks in offensive importance and compensation. That time wasn’t all that long ago. With that in mind, it’s stunning to see running backs ahead of only specialists in terms of compensation. 

The teams love the franchise tag. Players hate it. Teams love it because it’s another tool to restrict player movement. Since 1920, owners have loved controlling players. Players hate it because it keeps them off the open market. If the tag doesn’t lead to a long-term deal and they play the season on the franchise tag, the player sees no signing bonus. They get the great, one-year, guaranteed deal but they don’t see the much greater signing bonus. 

The franchise tag has been around since the 1993 birth of NFL Free Agency. For most of that time about a dozen players were tagged each season. Those numbers have dwindled in recent years. Only two players (Trey Smith and Tee Higgins) were tagged last season. We’ll see if more than two players are slapped with the tag this year. Here are some of the contenders for the 2026 Franchise Tag,

George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals 

Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

Odafe Oweh, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

A team can use only one tag so the Indianapolis Colts might have a decision to make.