With the NFL offseason heating up, we will soon see some decisions made on players who can be franchise tagged. There are three options for players who are franchise tagged. There is the non-exclusive franchise tag, exclusive franchise tag and transition tag.
The non-exclusive franchise tag allows players to negotiate with other teams, but their current team can match any offer. If the current team does not choose to match the signed offer sheet, they received two first-round picks as compensation. The exclusive franchise tag forbids a player from negotiating with any other team. In exchange for that, he receives an average of the five largest salaries in player contracts for that year. Finally, the transition tag pays the average of the 10 largest salaries in player contracts at his position for that year. The player’s current team has a right of first refusal on any contract offer, but if they decline, they do not receive any compensation.
Here are a few defensive players who could get franchise tagged this offseason.
Defensive linemen
None
Linebackers
Haason Reddick - Panthers
Harold Landry III - Titans
Franchise: $17,417,000
Transition: $14,882,000
Secondary
Jessie Bates - Bengals
J.C. Jackson - Patriots
Carlton Davis - Buccaneers
DeShon Elliott - Ravens
Tyrann Mathieu - Chiefs
Marcus Williams - Saints
CB
Franchise: $17,295,000
Transition: $14,904,000
S
Franchise: $13,544,000
Transition: $11,265,000