Bold claim: the franchise tag distortions hurt players and spark ongoing debate about fairness and value. And this is where the story gets really interesting...
The franchise tag, born from the 1993 Collective Bargaining Agreement, gives each NFL team the power to bind one unrestricted free agent to a one-year deal, blocking him from hitting the open market or securing a longer, more lucrative contract. Teams love this tool because it curbs risk and maintains control, while players generally dislike it for limiting long-term earning potential and negotiating power.
A crucial point many overlook is that the tag’s value isn’t aligned with market reality for several positions. For example, Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens would earn about $27.298 million under the tag, but the market’s top value for his position sits around $40 million per year. That gap isn’t unique to one role—it recurs across multiple positions.
Here are some representative gaps between franchise-tag figures and current market tops:
- Quarterback: tag $43.895 million vs. market top around $60 million.
- Running back: tag $14.293 million vs. market top about $20.6 million.
- Defensive end: tag $24.34 million vs. market top near $46.5 million.
- Cornerback: tag $21.6 million vs. market top about $30.1 million.
Other positions show smaller but still meaningful differences:
- Tight end: tag $15 million vs. market top $19.15 million.
- Offensive line: tag $25.773 million vs. market top $28.5 million.
- Defensive tackle: tag $27.127 million vs. market top $31.75 million.
- Safety: tag $20.149 million vs. market top $25.1 million.
Linebacker presents a quirk: the tag is $26.865 million, but the market top is only around $21 million. The discrepancy here partly stems from how some players labeled as edge rushers end up categorized as linebackers for tag purposes.
Special-teams aside, kickers and punters also show a misalignment: the tag sits at $6.649 million, while the market tops are roughly $6.4 million for kickers and about $4 million for punters. In these cases, the tag can feel like a slight overreach.
When the tag lags behind market value, teams view it as a no-brainer to apply. When the tag moves toward or past the top of the market, teams weigh the choice more carefully, and when it clearly exceeds market value, not using it becomes the obvious path.
A notable case is center Tyler Linderbaum. Since all offensive linemen are grouped together under the same tag, the Ravens opted not to tag him—his market top is around $18 million, more than $7 million below the tag amount.
The franchise tag formula has been in place since the 2011 CBA, calculated based on cap percentage consumed by the tag at the position via a five-year rolling average. Looking ahead to the next CBA, the union could push to revise this calculation to narrow the gap between the tag and the market for all positions, improving fairness and clarity for players and teams alike.
