What is the NFL franchise tag?
By Dani Bostick
You might be hearing a lot about franchise tags as NFL teams prepare for the 2016 season. What is it?
Each year, teams desperate to retain top talent can apply the franchise tag to a single player slated to hit the free-agent market. The franchise tag keeps the star player on the team for a single year for a predetermined salary, usually the average of the top five players at his position.
There are two types of franchise tags. Exclusive tags prevent players from negotiating with other teams. Non-exclusive tags give players the option to sign with another team, but it costs that team two first-round draft picks, a steep price to pay.
The franchise tag, first introduced in 1993, has obvious benefits for NFL teams since it provides a way to keep one player on the squad whom they would have likely lost to free agency. It also gives the team extra time, until July, to reach a long-term deal with the player.
While the franchise tag helps keep top talent in town, players are not always as enthusiastic. First, the franchise tag keeps players from negotiating lucrative, long-term deals with other teams. Since injury rates in the NFL are so high, players hit with the franchise tag have less protection and guarantees than players able to sign long-term deals with other teams.
Second, players often are not enthused with the standardized salaries. Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham was hit with the franchise tag while he was a member of the New Orleans Saints. Graham’s role with the team was more an oversized receiver. He was compensated at the tight end rate, a salary significantly lower than the one provided to wide receivers.
In 2015, players receiving the franchise tag included Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas, and Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston. This season, Broncos pass rusher Von Miller and New York Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson will likely be lost to free agency if their teams do not use the franchise tag.
The deadline this year is March 1 at 4 p.m.