Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

To Tag or Not To Tag – Franchise and Transition Players

Teams use the franchise or transition player designation to prohibit an unrestricted free agent from hitting the open market or as a means to buy time while the club and player attempt to negotiate a long-term deal. Along with the usual franchise or transition tag that is available to clubs, another free agency “rule” change for the 2010 uncapped season gave teams an extra transition tag.  NFL clubs had until February 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET to designate one franchise player and one transition player or two transition players. To see which players were tagged as franchise or transition players in 2010, click here.

Tenders for Franchise Player Designation

As in previous years, there are two levels of franchise tags – one that permits a player to negotiate with other teams, yet still gives the original (2009) team the right to match the offer and one that gives the club sole or “exclusive” rights to sign the player. When a player receives the “franchise player” designation, his original team must tender a one-year contract at the average of the five highest-paid players at the player’s position in 2009, or 120 percent of the player’s 2009 salary, whichever is greater. Moreover, a franchise player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match an offer given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the original club matches the offer within seven days, it keeps the player. If the original club does not match the offer, it receives two first-round draft choices as compensation.

If a team designates one of its unrestricted free agents an “exclusive franchise player,” the player is unable to sign with another club. The original team must offer the player a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position for the current year (2010) as of April 15, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season – whichever of the three is greater.

Tenders for Transition Player Designation

A team that opts to use the transition tag must offer the player it designates a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries at the player’s position in 2009, or 120 percent of the player’s 2009 salary, whichever is greater.  A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match an offer given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the original club matches the offer within seven days, it keeps the player. If the original club does not match the offer, it receives no draft pick compensation from the new club.

For a complete list of franchise or transition tag amounts, click here.

The Final Eight Plan: New Rules Governing the NFL’s Final Eight Playoff Teams

The new rules for 2010 free agency also impact the eight teams that reached the divisional round of the 2009 playoffs. These teams can sign any of their own free agents however they face tougher restrictions when it comes to signing unrestricted free agents from other teams. The four teams that played in the conference round – Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Minnesota Vikings – are prohibited from signing an unrestricted free agent from another team until they lose an unrestricted player of their own. In addition, the player that they sign can’t make more Year One pay than the player they lost. Year One pay includes base salary, reporting and roster bonuses, and a prorated portion of the player’s signing bonus. 

The restrictions on the four teams that lost the divisional round games – Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens – are slightly less harsh. These teams are allowed to sign one unrestricted free agent from another team whose first-year pay is $5,807,745 or more without losing a player at that pay level. In addition, they can also sign as many unrestricted free agents as they want provided the first-year pay is less than $3,861,823. These deals are also subject to limits in pay increases in subsequent seasons.

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