The NFL offseason officially started around 11 p.m. EST on February 12 when the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their Super Bowl 57 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, nine days later, teams can officially begin taking the first step in realizing their 2023 rosters.
February 21 marks the first day in a two-week window for teams to designate their franchise or transition tag players. Those labels effectively tie a pending free agent to the team for which they played the previous season to different degrees.
An exclusive franchise tag locks that player down for one year at a cost equaling the top five salaries at his position or 120 percent of his prior year salary — whichever is higher. A non-exclusive franchise tag allows that player to negotiate a contract with other teams, though the original team retains the right to match any outside offer.
If they decide not to match, the team doing the signing is compelled to send two first round draft picks to the first team — a steep cost that rarely comes up. The non-exclusive tag comes at a cost equaling the top five cap hits at his position or 120 percent of his prior year salary — whichever is higher.
These are 2023’s exclusive franchise tag rates by position:
- QB: $32.4 million
- RB: $10.1 million
- WR: $19.7 million
- TE: $11.3 million
- OL: $18.2 million
- DT: $18.9 million
- DE: $19.7 million
- LB: $20.9 million
- CB: $18.1 million
- S: $14.5 million
- Special teams: $5.4 million
The transition tag pays a player the average of the top 10 salaries at his position. It’s a non-exclusive tender that allows for free agents to negotiate elsewhere and original teams the right to match any deal. Unlike the franchise tag, there’s no guaranteed compensation if a team declines to match an outside offer. It’s generally used sparingly in comparison to the more popular franchise tag.
These are the projected values for 2023’s transition tag:
- QB: $30.4 million
- RB: $8.9 million
- WR: $18.0 million
- TE: $9.9 million
- OL: $17.5 million
- DT: $14.2 million
- DE: $17.5 million
- LB: $15.6 million
- CB: $15.6 million
- S: $12.8 million
- Special teams: $5.0 million
In short, these tags are a way to keep high profile free agents off the market and create extra space to work out a long-term contract — or lock them into a single, well-compensated year. It can be the precursor to big news or a tool used to alienate players looking for larger guarantees. So who are the top candidates to be tagged in 2023?