2021 Restricted Free Agent Tender Amounts
1st round: $4.766 million
2nd round: $3.384M
Original round: $2.183M
Right of first refusal only: $2.133M
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 12, 2021
The decisions the Green Bay Packers must make on restricted free agents – including tight end Robert Tonyan – now have associated monetary costs.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the restricted free agent tender amounts are as follows for the 2021 season: $4.766 million for the first round, $3.384 million for the second round, $2.183 million on the original round, and $2.133 million on the right of first refusal.
A restricted free agent is any player with an expiring contract and exactly three accrued seasons in the NFL. Teams can use the one-year tender amounts on restricted free agents, and while other teams can sign the players to offer sheets, the original team has a right to match – and if they don’t match, the associated draft pick compensation would go from the new team to the original team.
The Packers have six restricted free agents, including Tonyan, who caught 11 touchdown passes during a breakout season in 2020.
Tonyan is a former undrafted free agent, ruling out the original round tender. The Packers could use the first- or second-round tender, but the tenders cost more – creating a bigger cap hit – as the compensation increases.
The most likely outcome for Tonyan remains the second-round tender, which would cost the Packers around $3.4 million on the cap in 2021. That number would immediately go on the team’s cap once the tender is used, creating another potential hurdle for the Packers as they attempt to get under the salary cap by next Wednesday.
If the Packers use the second-round tender on Tonyan, any team that wants to sign the young tight end to an offer sheet would have to be prepared to give up a second-round pick to finish the deal.
The other restricted free agents for the Packers are cornerback Chandon Sullivan, defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster, safety Raven Greene, quarterback Tim Boyle and cornerback Parry Nickerson.
More than likely, only Tonyan will receive a tender out of the Packers’ six restricted free agents. If a restricted free agent does not receive a tender by the start of the new league year, that player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
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