What does franchise tag mean in NFL? Types of tags, updated positional values, and rules for 2025

All 32 organizations in the NFL will be looking to hold onto their most valuable free agents during the 2025 NFL offseason. One method of doing so is through the franchise tag, which has emerged as one of the most alluring strategies for teams to re-sign their best players.

The phrase "franchise tag" is frequently used by NFL fans during the football offseason, so you may be curious about its exact meaning and how it works.

To retain a free agent for an extra year, an NFL team may sign him to a one-year non-negotiated contract with a franchise tag. An organization can use the franchise tag, which can only be used once per offseason, to purposefully keep a free agent on a guaranteed deal with non-negotiated pay. Additionally, players can only be tagged if they are set to become unrestricted free agents.

The franchise tag lessens the team management's susceptibility to the financial risks associated with long-term deals and provides a methodical way to limit pay spending.

Being franchise-tagged makes certain players feel appreciated because it's frequently interpreted as evidence of their value to the team. However, the tag is a barrier for players who want to sign a long-term contract.

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Types of franchise tags in the NFL

In the NFL, teams are only permitted to use one of the three types of franchise tags—exclusive, non-exclusive and transition—per offseason.

What is a non-exclusive franchise tag?

The most prevalent kind in the NFL is the non-exclusive franchise tag. It permits players and their agents to speak with different organizations, but the team that tagged the player retains the right to match any proposal from another organization. If the player leaves for another team, the player's parent team will be compensated with two first-round draft selections.

This kind of tag is worth 120% of the player's most recent salary or the average of the highest five contracts at the player's position over the five years before the current year.

The position of a player determines the transition franchise tag. Although it also gives the original team the ability to match any proposal and permits a player and his agency to talk to other organizations, the team would not be compensated if the player left.

The average of the top 10 salaries for the player's position during the current season is the value of a transition tag.

What is an exclusive tag?

The exclusive tag, the third kind of franchise tag, is worth 120% of the player's former contract or the top five salaries at his position in that particular season. A player with an exclusive franchise tag won't be able to hit free agency officially because they are bound to the team and aren't allowed to look for another offer.

NFL franchise tag values for 2025

After accounting for the salary cap amount for a certain season, the value of the franchise tag is determined by averaging the top five salaries at a particular position over the last five seasons.

The non-exclusive tag and transition tag values for each position in 2025 are as follows:

QBs:

Non-exclusive tag - $41,325,000

Transition tag - $35,267,000

RBs:

Non-exclusive tag - $11,951,000

Transition tag - $9,765,000

WRs:

Non-exclusive tag - $25,693,000

Transition tag - $22,523,000

TEs:

Non-exclusive tag - $14,241,000

Transition tag - $12,069,000

OL:

Non-exclusive tag - $25,156,000

Transition tag - $22,745,000

DE:

Non-exclusive tag - $24,727,000

Transition tag - $20,769,000

DT:

Non-exclusive tag - $23,468,000

Transition tag - $18,934,000

LB:

Non-exclusive tag - $27,050,000

Transition tag - $22,612,000

CB:

Non-exclusive tag - $20,357,000

Transition tag - $17,198,000

S:

Non-exclusive tag - $19,626,000

Transition tag - $15,598,000

Special team:

Non-exclusive tag - $6,459,000

Transition tag - $5,830,000