NFL teams can retain the rights to one of their impending free agents in 2025 with the use of a non-exclusive tag, an exclusive franchise tag or a transition tag during a 15-day period from Feb. 18 to March 4.
Traditionally, players aren’t happy when given a franchise tag. The designation can hinder the ability to gain long-term security because players must incur the risk of serious injury and poor performance again after already playing out their contracts when an agreement on a multiyear deal can’t be reached. In these cases, the franchise tag is essentially a high-salaried, one-year, “prove-it” deal.
The franchise tag operated more like it was originally intended this year. The designation was a precursor to a long-term deal. Seven of the eight players (87.5%) given franchise tags signed multiyear contracts.
That’s a big change from the previous three years (2021-23). Less than half of the time (11 of 24 or 45.83%) during this time frame was a long-term deal signed while under the designation.
A look at how franchise and transition tags work and the projected 2025 numbers are below.
Tag logistics
How franchise and transition tenders are calculated is misunderstood. The confusion makes most attempts at projecting these numbers wrong.
Prior to the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement, non-exclusive franchise tags had been an average of the five largest salaries in the prior year at a player’s position or 120% of the prior year’s salary of the player, whichever was greater. For franchise tag purposes, salary means a player’s salary cap number, excluding workout bonuses and most other performance bonuses.
The 120% and five largest salaries provisions have remained intact but the formula component is now calculated over a five-year period that’s tied to a percentage of the overall salary cap. More specifically, the number for each position is derived by taking the…
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