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NFL fans heard all about the franchise tag on Tuesday as that was the deadline for teams to use this designation. While it was used on several others around the league, Davante Adams and Chris Godwin were two big names that received a franchise tag.
So what does this mean? What is a franchise tag? The simple answer is that it allows an NFL team to prevent a "franchise" player from hitting free agency. Adams is a perfect example of why it is used.
The Green Bay Packers' star receiver was set to be a free agent. He wants a long-term deal, while the team just wants him back. Placing the tag on him allows the Packers more time (until July) to negotiate a long-term deal with Adams. If that does not happen, he can either sign and play on this one-year deal, which is fully guaranteed, or hold out and demand a trade.
The fact the deal is fully guaranteed helps the player earn good money while they await the chance to discuss a long-term deal. Speaking of money, the franchise tag ensures a solid payday. The salary is either the average of the top five salaries at that position or 120 percent of the player's previous salary. They get the higher value of the two. So a receiver, for example, either gets $18.5 million or 120 percent of their 2021 salary.
Needless to say, this can get pricey for NFL teams. Yet the benefit of keeping a star, sometimes, outweighs the cost. But can a team tag someone multiple times?
Can NFL players be franchise tagged multiple times?
The answer is yes, they can. Kirk Cousins was a famous example of this while in Washington. He went from earning less than $1 million in 2015 to nearly $20 million in 2016. He was then tagged again and earned nearly $24 million in 2017. If that were today, with the giant quarterback contracts, back-to-back tags would have been financially impossible.
A back-to-back tag means a team is committing to paying 120 percent of the player's previous year salary. If they do it a third time, that amount goes up to 144 percent of that second year salary. It is more fiscally responsbile to work out a long-term deal at that point.
Yet plans change, and Godwin is another player who is on consecutive franchise tags. That makes sense, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were unsure of Tom Brady's plans. They can now keep Godwin for, at least, one more year as they figure out the future of the franchise.
Like all league financials, the franchise tag can be confusing. The easy thing to remember is that it ensures a player good money on a one-year deal, while giving both sides a chance to work out a long-term deal.
