What Does the Franchise Tag Mean in the NFL?

What Is a Franchise Tag?

A franchise tag is a one-year contract, specifically designed to retain players with a guaranteed deal. It locks them in with a non-negotiated salary for the upcoming season and ensures that unrestricted free agents won’t hit the open market for other teams to pick up. The franchise tag came about in 1993 during the NFL’s fourth Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBAs).

It’s not a requirement for a team to use a franchise tag, but there can be many benefits to doing so, depending on their needs.

High-profile tagged players have included Lamar Jackson, the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell, Giants running back Saquon Barkley, the Cowboys’ Tony Pollard, and the Titans’ Derrick Henry.

What Are the Types of Franchise Tags?

There are actually two types of franchise tags: exclusive and non-exclusive. 

With an exclusive franchise tag, the player is prohibited from negotiating with another team, hence the name. The player is protected with this type of agreement because they’re guaranteed a significant salary, the higher of either 120% of their previous year’s salary or the average of the top five salaries for that position for the current year. (This differs from a transition tag, which uses the average of the top 10 salaries.)

With the non-exclusive franchise tag, a player is allowed to negotiate with other teams. This does make the process a little more complex, as they are given the option of agreeing to the second or third team’s offer. If the first team decides to, they can match the new offer, or they can refuse to bid, in which case they receive two first-round picks.

Similarly to the exclusive franchise tag, the non-exclusive franchise tag offers significant compensation. This comes as either 120% of the previous year’s salary or the average of the top five salaries for the last five years for their position, whichever compensation package is higher. 

What Are the Benefits of a Franchise Tag?

Franchise tags are essential for teams working out the needs of their players and lineups for the upcoming season. They’re specific to football and aren’t found in other sporting leagues, like the NHL. With a franchise tag, you can secure the players you most want to have on your team for the upcoming season, and you can prevent them from joining rival teams.

This is especially true if you follow an exclusive franchise tag, in which the player can’t engage in negotiations with other teams. Even with non-exclusive franchise tags, there’s still a good possibility of holding onto the players you most want. The compensation for losing a franchise player that might have been a solid addition to your team is that your team gets two first-round picks.

In addition to benefits for the team, there are also benefits for the NFL players. They start out in the top five of salaries for their position, and the position is guaranteed for a year with a long-term contract. Many players strive to achieve the franchise tag, both for the elevated position and the benefits, but some players have no tag contracts, like Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fame.

Another benefit for players is that they don’t need to show up to training camp if they are franchise and unsigned. Training camp is mandatory only with a contract, but unsigned players can skip any activities that would normally be compensated by a contract. 

How Many Franchise Tags Can a Team Issue?

A team can use just one franchise tag per off-season, inclusive of either an exclusive or non-exclusive franchise tag. That means there may be up to 32 franchise tags used in a season, but some teams may choose not to issue one, depending on the team’s needs. 

What Players Can a Franchise Tag Be Used On?

There are some specific requirements that an agent must meet to be eligible for a franchise tag. Most importantly, it can only be used on the players who are about to become unrestricted free agents who aren’t guaranteed to play for any specific team in the following year.

Players can be tagged more than once, both in the same season by different teams and in consecutive seasons. This does change the way that the player is compensated, however, as each year they are guaranteed more money than the previous year at the rate of 120%. 

For the third consecutive season that a player gets franchise tagged, he will be eligible for 120% of the average of the top five salaries for players in his position, the average of the top five salaries for the league, or 144% of the second-year franchise salary. He will be compensated with a salary matching the highest of these numbers. 

Can a Player Reject a Franchise Tag?

A player may try to maintain their free agency by turning down a franchise tag, but that’s not an option allowed by the NFL. This rule is designed to help keep players from reaching free agency.

That said, there are steps that players can take to protect themselves in the future if they believe it’s the best move for their careers. Namely, players can negotiate with their current team and add a no-franchise clause into the current contract for when the contract is up. They may have to make concessions to their contract, like salary cuts, but they’ll have more control over where they end up next. 

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