With free agency around the corner, the NFL is currently engaged in its age-old tradition of taking some of the best names off the market. The franchise tag period allows teams to hold onto premier players just a bit longer, extending the negotiation window for a long-term deal while still maintaining team control.
There are two different types of tags. The exclusive tag is the most typical tag given out, preventing players from any negotiations with other teams. It costs the most of any tag, being the higher of the average top-five salaries at that player’s position or 120% of the player’s last salary. A non-exclusive tag, on the other hand, allows a player to still negotiate a contract. Any team that signs that team to an unmatched offer sheet will do so in exchange for two first-round picks. The rarer transition tag pays a player the greater of the average of the top 10 prior-year salaries at the player’s position, but it still allows a player to negotiate outside with no draft compensation.
There are the names we will not see hit the open market come free agency.
