How does the NFL franchise tag work?

The franchise tag is a relatively simple process, but the ramifications can be big for both teams and players.

When the NFL offseason heats up, one of the biggest storylines to watch every year is which players get the franchise tag. Teams have a two-week window to apply the one-year tender. Players who get the tag have to either sign their tender or negotiate a long-term contract with their teams before the July 15 deadline.

The franchise tag is essentially a one-year contract that guarantees a predetermined salary for players. The salary amount is set by the averaging the top five salaries by position for the previous league year, or if it’s higher, 120 percent of a player’s salary the previous season. So players like quarterbacks and defensive ends will have a much higher tag salary than positions like kicker or punter.

With the salary cap climbing to an estimated $190 million, here are the estimated salaries for each position under the franchise tag in 2019:

Quarterbacks: $24.865 million
Running backs: $11.214 million
Wide receivers: $16.787 million
Tight ends: $10.387 million
Offensive linemen: $14.067 million
Defensive tackles: $15.209 million
Defensive ends: $17.128 million
Linebackers: $15.433 million
Cornerbacks: $16.022 million
Safeties: $11.150 million
Kickers/Punters: $4.971 million

Teams can only use the tag once per year. There are three different types of tags a team can assign.

Types of NFL franchise tags

Exclusive

Just what the name implies. The player is locked into his team and cannot negotiate with any other team during the free agency period.

Non-exclusive

The player is allowed to negotiate with other teams, but if a competing team makes a free agent offer, the original team has the right to match it. If they don’t match the offer, they get two first-round picks in compensation. In other words, this is basically a convoluted trade scenario.

Transition tag

Similar to the non-exclusive tag, except the player gets paid an average of the top 10 salaries at his position, rather than top five. Transition-tagged players are free to negotiate with other teams, but unlike non-exclusive players, the original team gets no compensation if it fails to match an offer.

Once a player gets tagged, that’s when the real drama begins. Both sides have until mid-July to negotiate a long-term contract. This ramps up the sense of urgency. Teams don’t want to use the tag because it ties up a huge chunk of their salary cap for just one year. The players don’t like it because they don’t have any financial security beyond that one year, and have almost no leverage outside of threatening to hold out. If they fail to agree to a long-term deal before the deadline, the player is set for his one-year contract.

Fortunately for most players, they’re often able to secure a new contract with their team and the franchise tag doesn’t have to come into play — at least until the next offseason.

Who has received the franchise tag in 2019?

The number of players who are franchise-tagged varies by year. Six players received some form of a tag last year, and the year before it was seven. In 2016, there were nine.

Frank Clark, DE, Seattle Seahawks

2018 was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Seattle after the dismantling of the Legion of Boom defense. Clark’s career-high 13 sacks and 27 quarterback hits helped lead the Seahawks into the postseason instead. With plenty of cap space available, tagging Clark could be the franchise’s first step in working out a long term deal with the budding star:

Jadeveon Clowney, OLB, Houston Texans

Clowney has been very good in his five seasons as a pro, but he has yet to unleash that extra gear that made him terrifying at the University of South Carolina. His baseline is a Pro Bowl edge rusher who can approach double-digit sacks each season, but his ceiling is a Michael Strahan-level disruptor who terrorizes quarterbacks on a series-by-series basis. Tagging him gives the Texans another season to determine whether he’s worth a record-setting contract — and whether he can keep his recent streak of relatively healthy seasons intact:

Dee Ford, OLB, Kansas City Chiefs

Ford was part of a triumvirate of pass rushers in Kansas City, along with Justin Houston and Chris Jones, who made life difficult for quarterbacks across the AFC the past two seasons. But the club is set to release Houston, carving out the space to franchise Ford and potentially negotiate a long-term deal in the coming weeks.

This is important for a Chiefs team that was too often undone by a weak defensive effort. The club gave up 5.9 yards per play — 24th-best in the NFL — even with Ford’s 13 sacks and league-leading seven forced fumbles. They’re buying in hard that Ford can replicate those numbers, even without Houston around to provide a pass-rushing bookend at the second level.

Robbie Gould, K, San Francisco 49ers

Gould was the NFL’s most accurate kicker last fall, making 33 of his 34 kicks for a struggling San Francisco team. Tagging him will keep him in the Bay Area for a little less than $5 million, though it seems more likely the Niners will sign him to a longer deal before the 2019 season begins.

Grady Jarrett, DT, Atlanta Falcons

Jarrett is a big, blocker-absorbing presence in the middle of the Atlanta defensive line, and he showed off a little extra pass-rushing punch with six sacks in 14 games last fall. He would have had his share of suitors this spring, but the Falcons aren’t even going to risk it, keeping him in town for one year and $15.2 million. Locking him in will ensure some stability up front for a defense that needs all the help it can get in the NFC South.

Demarcus Lawrence, DE, Dallas Cowboys

Lawrence was put to the test after being tagged in 2018. He passed with flying colors, recording double-digit sacks for the second straight season and emerging as one of the league’s most powerful pass rushers. The Cowboys reportedly tried to work out a deal with him before the franchise tag deadline, but if they couldn’t agree on terms. That has left Lawrence staring down another year under the tag. This time, he’d get a 20 percent bump over last year’s salary under NFL rules, which puts him at $20.57 million for 2019.

However, Lawrence has said he won’t sign a second tender. The two sides have until July 15 to reach a multiyear deal.

Donovan Smith, OT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Smith has started all 64 games with the Bucs since being drafted in 2015, and the team values his consistency at left tackle. While Tampa is expected to work out a long-term deal with the rising blocker, the team placed him under the tag to add a little extra security to negotiations.

Who else could get the franchise tag in 2019?

Here are some other candidates for 2019:

Trey Flowers, DE, New England Patriots

Flowers’ versatility has been tremendously valuable in New England, as his ability to take on different roles across the trenches has helped a pair of defensive coordinators level up to head coaching positions the past two years. The former fourth-round pick has led the Patriots in sacks in each of the past three seasons, even if his overall number in that span (21) isn’t especially impressive. Flowers has proven himself a perfect fit up front for Bill Belichick — the question now is whether the Patriots are ready to pay him on a long-term deal.

Landon Collins, S, New York Giants

Collins has starred in New York’s disheveled secondary, emerging as a rare bright spot in an otherwise regrettable stretch for the Giants. He could be a building block for the future, but he won’t come cheaply. Pat Shurmur’s team isn’t flush with cash this offseason, and the club’s rolling rebuild could put Collins’ north Jersey residency in question.

Collins has reportedly cleaned out his locker in the Giants’ facility, though to what extent isn’t entirely clear. He certainly doesn’t seem like he wants to stay in New York, however.

The Giants appear reticent to keep him at the franchise tag cost of $11.1m this fall.

Who won’t get tagged in 2019?

With the March 5 deadline approaching, here’s who we know will hit free agency:

Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

One player who won’t be franchised — for the first time since 2016 — is Steelers’ tailback Le’Veon Bell, who sat out all of 2018. He’s finally headed for unrestricted free agency.

Nick Foles, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles could have traded Foles rather than allow him to leave in free agency with no compensation. Locking him down with the non-exclusive tag would allow the team to gauge trade requests while keeping the door open for the Super Bowl 52 MVP to return to Philadelphia — albeit at a high price.

Instead, general manager Howie Roseman says the Eagles won’t tag Foles, allowing him to remain an unrestricted free agent. He’s expected to sign with the Jaguars once the new league year starts.

C.J. Mosley, ILB, Baltimore Ravens

Mosley has been a sideline-to-sideline wrecking ball for the Ravens, keeping up a proud tradition of dynamic linebacker play in Maryland. While the club hopes to keep him in black and purple in 2019, it won’t do so with the franchise tag.

Who got the franchise tag in 2018?

Five players received the franchise tag and one, Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller, was given the transition tag. One, Jarvis Landry, was traded from Miami to Cleveland after being tagged. Another, Le’Veon Bell, opted to sit out the year and shoot for a long term contract in 2019 instead. The other three players to be tagged were Lawrence, Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner, and Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah.