The NFL Franchise Tag and Team Control

Orlando Brown was one of four franchise tagged players not able to reach a long-term deal with their current team by the franchise tag deadline. Krebs’ latest Monday NFL Column looks into the franchise tag and its implications on player ownership.

How much control teams should have over players has been a hotly contested topic in the NFL, with some players holding out in past seasons for better contracts. Player vs. team control has been at the forefront of CBA discussions, even before 1993, the origin of free agency in the NFL. Unless under contract with a team, players should not be forced to be under a contract they did not negotiate.

The NFL franchise tag predates free agency but is no doubt team control. For those who do not know much about the franchise tag, a team decides to place a one-year contract upon a player entering free agency. The figures hover between exclusive (an average of the top five salaries at a position or 120% of the player’s previous salary, depending on which is larger) or non-exclusive (an average of the top five cap hits at a position or 120% of that player’s previous salary, depending on which is larger). The main difference between the two is the terminology “cap hit,” which includes all expenses into a team’s salary cap, including signing bonuses. While the franchise tag includes top positional salary, its position as a one-year deal does not comfort NFL players in search of a long-term contract, with the franchise tag deadline as the most crucial element of the franchise tag dilemma.

All four franchise-tagged players without a long-term extension in the 2022 offseason failed to reach an extension before the July 15th, 4 PM ET deadline. Therefore, all these players will play in 2022-23 under the franchise tag, unable to sign a long-term extension with their current club. It takes two sides to agree to a deal, but the players did not ask for the franchise tag slap. Their futures with their current teams remain murky, if not more dirt-filled, due to their impending free agency after the season.

In an ideal world, players would have more control over where they play. The Blitz: Episode 73 discussed this topic, with some PSF contributors favoring the tag while others recognized that players were at a disadvantage. Overall, team control is what it is—a tool for teams to control their players for another year.

The NFL franchise tag is not ideal for all parties due to its hesitation in future negotiations. When all parties are at the table and work without a lingering team control option, that allows for an even playing field in NFL negotiations. The NFL franchise tag is emblematic and on-brand for a league that prioritizes ownership, first and foremost, over everything else.

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