Unless the deadline is moved, Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET marks the end of the two-week window for NFL teams to designate franchise and transition tags among their pending free agents, of which Pittsburgh has 16. When the Steelers tagged outside linebacker Bud Dupree last season, the news didn’t come down until deadline day. Not surprisingly, the Steelers chose not to tag Dupree again.
The NFL introduced the franchise tag in 1993 in an effort for teams to retain valuable players, reducing the movement of top-tier players to other markets. It also gave clubs more time to sign the said player to a long-term contract. The deadline to sign tagged players is July 15.
Should he elect to play on the tag, the player will earn a one-year, fully guaranteed salary.
There are two types of franchise tag designations: exclusive rights and non-exclusive rights. Around the NFL’s Kevin Patra explained it nicely here.
Pittsburgh is not likely to tag any free agents this season mainly because of the hefty price tag that comes with doing so.
Below is a look at who Pittsburgh has tagged since 1993. It’s interesting to see the difference between values from the 90s, even the early 00s compared to now.