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Last year, a record 21 teams used the franchise tag. This year, only eight did.
With the deadline to place the franchise tag having passed, here’s the full list of franchise players for 2013, with the one-year tender offer that comes with that player’s position:
Buffalo: S Jairus Byrd ($6,916,000)
Chicago: DT Henry Melton ($8,450,000)
Cincinnati: DE Michael Johnson ($11,175,000)
Dallas: LB Anthony Spencer ($10,560,000 Note: The linebacker tag is $9,619,000, but Spencer is guaranteed a 20 percent raise over his 2012 franchise player salary, which was $8.8 million.)
Denver: OT Ryan Clady ($9,828,000)
Indianapolis: P Pat McAfee ($2,977,000)
Kansas City: OT Branden Albert ($9,828,000)
Miami: DT Randy Starks ($8,450,000)
No player was designated as an exclusive franchise player or as a transition player.
The biggest factor for the lack of tags could have been the salary cap. Even though the franchise tenders are now based on the five-year average cap percentage consumed by the five highest-paid players at each position, it becomes more difficult to give one large chunk of cap space to one player at a time when the total cap grew by only 0.5 percent in 2012 and 1.9 percent in 2013. For too many teams, the upward pressure of salary increases coupled with a relatively static total spending limit has made eight-figure salaries for non-superstar players a luxury that no longer can be afforded.
The next question is whether the one-year franchise tenders will become long-term deals. Teams have until July 15 to make that transformation.
If not, the players who have received the franchise tenders but who won’t be signing them any time soon need to worry about something that hasn’t happened in eight years: A team rescinding the tag.
With the deadline to place the franchise tag having passed, here’s the full list of franchise players for 2013, with the one-year tender offer that comes with that player’s position:
Buffalo: S Jairus Byrd ($6,916,000)
Chicago: DT Henry Melton ($8,450,000)
Cincinnati: DE Michael Johnson ($11,175,000)
Dallas: LB Anthony Spencer ($10,560,000 Note: The linebacker tag is $9,619,000, but Spencer is guaranteed a 20 percent raise over his 2012 franchise player salary, which was $8.8 million.)
Denver: OT Ryan Clady ($9,828,000)
Indianapolis: P Pat McAfee ($2,977,000)
Kansas City: OT Branden Albert ($9,828,000)
Miami: DT Randy Starks ($8,450,000)
No player was designated as an exclusive franchise player or as a transition player.
The biggest factor for the lack of tags could have been the salary cap. Even though the franchise tenders are now based on the five-year average cap percentage consumed by the five highest-paid players at each position, it becomes more difficult to give one large chunk of cap space to one player at a time when the total cap grew by only 0.5 percent in 2012 and 1.9 percent in 2013. For too many teams, the upward pressure of salary increases coupled with a relatively static total spending limit has made eight-figure salaries for non-superstar players a luxury that no longer can be afforded.
The next question is whether the one-year franchise tenders will become long-term deals. Teams have until July 15 to make that transformation.
If not, the players who have received the franchise tenders but who won’t be signing them any time soon need to worry about something that hasn’t happened in eight years: A team rescinding the tag.
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