The NFL’s outdated franchise tag rules will cost a Ravens player $3 million

Matthew Judon is a linebacker in name only, but that didn’t stop the Ravens from tagging him as one.

While the rest of the sports world has come to halt, the NFL offseason is still chugging along. On Friday, the Ravens took care of a bit of business by placing the franchise tag on edge rusher Matthew Judon.

Judon was seen as an obvious candidate for the tag. While most players despise the tag, it sounds like he’s taking it in stride, telling ESPN’s Josina Anderson, “I’d rather have a long-term deal for stability. It is what it is … At the end of the day, I know I’m playing football next season.”

If that long-term deal doesn’t come, Judon may take issue with the salary he’ll earn playing under the tag in 2020, however.

For whatever reason, the NFL hasn’t updated its list of positions for the franchise tag, so a player like Judon gets paid like an off-the-ball linebacker rather than an edge rusher, which is the role he actually plays.

Assuming he plays under the tag, that seemingly small distinction will cost Judon about $3 million in salary. That’s a lot of money!

The franchise tag rule was implemented to help teams work out long-term deals with star players; teams have already taken advantage of the rule, using it to essentially hold players hostage. The archaic list of position options allows them to take that abuse of the rule a step further in some cases. This is one of those cases.

There’s really no explanation for this when anybody with even a casual understanding of football can tell you the difference between an edge rusher and an off-the-ball linebacker.

In the past, we’ve seen players and teams argue over this distinction. In those past arguments, there were a lot more areas of grey. In 2014, Jimmy Graham argued that he should be paid like a wide receiver based on his production and usage. The Saints maintained that he was a tight end despite the fact that he mostly lined up in spots typically reserved for a receiver. The arbitrator sided with the Saints.

The Graham-Saints dispute was more of a judgment call. That’s not the case with the Ravens and Judon, who is clearly a pass rusher and should be paid as such.

One possible way to solve this issue is by using the league’s tracking data. With that information, players and teams could make evidenced-based arguments for which position a player actually plays rather than just using archaic labels.

But players have pushed back against that tracking data being used in contract negotiations. As former NFL QB Derek Anderson explained on Twitter, teams could use it to argue that a player is in decline…

I don’t necessarily buy that argument, as teams will make those arguments anyway. At least this way, they’ll actually need evidence to back it up. The real problem is that NFL teams have analytics departments mining that data while players do not have those resources. That creates an unfair advantage for teams. But for disputes that require an arbitrator — as the Graham-Saints dispute did — that data could be useful and, in theory, would not create an unfair advantage for either side.

Back to Judon. Under the tag, his cap hit for the 2020 season is projected to be about $16.2 million, per Over the Cap. That’s a big number for a player who is closer to “above average” than he is “elite.” Judon made the Pro Bowl last year after racking up 9.5 sacks, but the Ravens’ defensive scheme put him a lot of advantageous positions, which led to his big statistical season.

So it’s probably in Baltimore’s best interest to work out a long-term deal that brings down that cap number for the upcoming season, which would render the Judon’s position designation meaningless. If it doesn’t happen, though, the Ravens may have a fight on their hands over that extra $3 million.

It’s a fight the team should lose but, in all likelihood, won’t.

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