Ladies and gentlemen, you can turn on your engines – but they have some time to warm up.
Today the opening of the franchise and transfer window is open, which means we are in the final stages as teams prepare for the new league year and the free agency starts on March 17th.
The label window runs from today 23 February to 9 March.
Teams can start posting the franchise or transfer messages to players today and can work out a long-term agreement with the players until mid-July. If an expansion has not been worked out by that time, the player will play the 2021 season under the one-year tender.
Clubs have three different options when deciding to brand a player: 1) Non-exclusive franchise label; 2) Exclusive franchise label; 3) Transition plate.
Non-exclusive franchise label: This is the marker most commonly used. When most people refer to the “franchise tag”, they generally talk about the non-exclusive version. It is a one-year tender of the average of the five best salaries in the position of the player during the last five years, or 120 per cent of his previous salary, whichever is greater. The player can negotiate with other teams. The player’s current team has the right to adjust any offer or receive two draft picks of the first round as compensation if he signs with another organization.
Exclusive franchise label: An offer of one year with the average of the five best salaries for the player’s position the current year, or 120 percent of his previous salary, whichever is greater. The player cannot negotiate with another team. The increase in salary (current average salary compared to the average of the previous five years) means that only a select few get this label. Usually players for whom teams receive two picks in the first round receive this version of the label – generally quarterbacks like Dak Prescott get the exclusive advantage last season.
Transition plate: The transition indicator is a one-year tender offer for the average of the top ten salaries on the position – as opposed to the top five for the franchise label. This guarantees the original club the right of first refusal to comply with any offer that the player may receive from another club. The labeling team is not awarded any compensation if it chooses not to enter into an agreement. The transfer plate is usually a placeholder that gives the club the opportunity to match any contract the player is negotiating with another team.
Each team can use only one franchise or transition brand each year. An uplifting tender money as a label – you will remember that the Carolina Panthers withdrew Josh Norman’s label back in 2016. ‘ A player can be marked up to three times by his team, with a jump in each time – usually by the third label, the percentage of the salary ceiling taken up at the time makes it unaffordable.
Franchise figures for each position are based on the salary limit for the 2021 season. As the cap is not officially determined, teams are currently working on the estimate. We know that the salary cap will not be less than $ 180 million.
Although today is the beginning of the franchise label window, you should not expect a bunch of teams to still use their option. Clubs will continue to work on long-term expansions until the window closes on March 9th. The labels are usually implemented after it is clear that the side needs more time to negotiate.
Of the candidates to get the label, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Dallas Cowboys are expected to use a second straight label on Prescott if no long-term deal is made. So does Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers is expected to tag receiver Chris Godwin – they used the label on Shaquil Barrett last year. Rapoport also added that Lions receiver Kenny Golladay is a strong candidate to be tagged.
The window is open. The wave of news is unlikely to fly closer to the March 9 deadline.