Franchise Tag
Smith-Schuster would be the first WR in the team’s history to be tagged, so the chances of it happening are slim.
Franchise tag values aren’t announced until March when the 2021 salary cap is set. There is a specific calculation for determining the value, but it’s primarily based on the average of the five largest prior year salaries for players at the position over the last five years. In 2020, the WR tag is $18.5 million, and in 2019, it was $16.8 million.
Generally, players don’t like getting tagged because there’s no long-term security. It would, however, give the Steelers and Smith-Schuster more time to negotiate a lengthy contract.