Building an NFL champion involves more than just playing games. A lot of work happens behind the scenes. This includes hours spent practicing and watching game films, as well as the efforts of the front office, responsible for managing finances, scouting talent, and assembling a competitive team while staying within the salary cap limit. The franchise tag is an important tool used to help achieve these goals. This year, too, some franchise-tagged players, especially Brian Burns and L’Jarius Sneed have grabbed the spotlight.

The Carolina Panthers used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Burns, ensuring he gets $24 million for the upcoming season. On the other hand, the Kansas City Chiefs also applied the nonexclusive franchise tag to Sneed, which means he’ll receive $19.802 million for 2024, despite their good 2023 performance. Therefore, the recent trend of non-exclusive franchise tagging raises questions about the strategies of NFL teams and their general managers.

Are non-exclusive franchise tagging becoming the norm?

The NFL has informed all 32 teams that the salary cap of 2024 will be a record $255.4 million, an increase from $224.8 million last year. Since then, the teams have started adjusting, negotiating and franchise tagging the players. The NFL franchise tag is a unique contract used during the football offseason. It’s special to the NFL and can be seen as both an achievement and a setback for the players. However, recently non-exclusive franchise tagging has become popular among the teams’ GMs.

The non-exclusive tag is a designation in the NFL that lets a player negotiate with other teams. But again, the player’s original team can either match the offer or get two first-round draft picks if the player decides to leave, and hence it’s reportedly used quite often in the league. Additionally, the salary on a non-exclusive tag is either the average of the top 5 salaries at the player’s position from the last five years or 120 percent of the player’s previous salary, whichever is higher. The tag is considered to be popular among the teams because it’s cheaper for them and can lead to big trade offers.

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Moreover, according to The Athletic’s Mark Puleo and Jeff Howe, “the franchise tag is seen as beneficial for team owners and general managers. It reduces the risk of committing to a player long-term by keeping them on a one-year deal. This way, if the player underperforms or gets injured, the team has the option to release them or renegotiate their contract at a lower cost.”

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So, does that mean, saving the cap money is their main priority rather than securing a player’s future with a long-term contract? And does this value assessment imply that it will persist as the standard practice in the NFL offseason going forward? It remains to be seen how general managers are opting to utilize the non-exclusive franchise tag.

How much is the franchise tag for the players?

Not every position costs the same. The cornerback position is valued at $18.8M, and the defensive end position is valued at $20.2M. As per the reports, L’Jarius Sneed demanded a $20 million annual salary, which resulted in his cut from the Chiefs. After extending Chris Jones’ contract, the Chiefs have roughly $15.2 million in space. And for Brian Burns, the Panthers allowed him to engage in contract discussions with other teams, consequently landing him on the Giants roster. He also became the first Panthers to be tagged since 2021.

Besides the CBs and DEs, the projected 2024 Franchise Tag Values are: “Quarterback – $36.3M; Running Back – $11.3M; Wide Receiver – $20.7M; Tight End – $12M; Offensive Line- $19.9M; Defensive Tackle – $20.9M; Linebacker – $22.8M; Safety – $16.2M; and Kicker/Punter – $5.6M.”

As of now, reportedly around 9 players have been franchise-tagged, and 2 tagged with non-exclusive. So, it remains to be seen whether the use of non-exclusive franchise tags becomes the new norm. However, one can say that it underscores the evolving dynamics of player contracts and team-building strategies in the NFL.