The 2015 offseason is getting into full swing, and the NFL is preparing for free agent season, which starts March 10th, or in about a week. Most people don't fully know or understand what a Franchise Tag is, so before I start my Tag Tracker, let me let you know what a Tag is.
A Franchise tag is basically a hold on a player. His contract has run out and no extension or re-sign has been made, so to keep the player on the team, they put a franchise tag on him. The Tag guarantees the player the average of the top 5 salaries at his position in the league for 1 year. If no other resign attempt is made, he plays out his 1 year tender.
There are a few different types of hold on a franchise tag player. First, there is the exclusive tag, which is when other teams cannot negotiate a contract with the player. It pretty much guarantees the return of the player to his former team for at least one year, happy or not. Next, there is a non-exclusive tag, which means other teams can target him. However, if the player leaves his former team for a new one with a non-exclusive tag, the next 2 first round draft picks go to that team as a trade. Last, there is a tender tag. It's basically the same as the non-exclusive except if the new team makes an offer that the former team cannot (or will not) match, the other team gets the player without loosing the 2 first round draft picks.
After a player is tagged, teams have until July 15th to work out a long term contract deal with the player. If that doesn't happen, they play the tag tender and don't return the following season.
Here are the tags applied today:
Dallas- Franchise Tags WR Dez Bryant with a non-exclusive tag.
Denver- Franchise tags WR Demaryius Thomas with a non-exclusive tag.
Kansas City- Franchise tags LB Justin Houston with a non-exclusive tag.
Miami- Tender Tags TE Charles Clay.
New England-Franchise tags K Steven Gostkowski with a non-exclusive tag.
New York Giants- Franchise tags DE Jason Pierre-Paul with a non-exclusive tag.
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