Earning the title “franchise player” sounds like an honor, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. If you have any doubts, just look at the NFL superstars who were “franchised” by their teams who are not reporting to voluntary workouts. Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Bears running back Matt Forte and Eagles running back Ray Rice are not expected to report to voluntary workouts this week.
The NFL came up with the franchise tag system to reduce the freedom of players to move between teams, and to let teams hold on to their best players for one more year. It allows each team the opportunity to retain one player per year that was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent by applying the franchise tag. The franchise tag is a one year contract at a calculated salary.
In that regard, it is an advantage to the teams and a disadvantage to the players, as it pushes off their opportunity to test the free agency and determine their market value. The franchised players are rewarded with a salary equal to the average of the top five players at their position.
The salary is fair, but the problem with the system is that it prevents players from signing a long term deal, which can equate to a lot more guaranteed dollars, and greatly increases the repercussions of a potential injury. It puts some of the best players in the league in the position of playing with a shorter term contract and fewer guarantees – far from an honor.
This year has the richest crop of franchised players since the system was put in place. And three of the biggest names – Brees, Forte and Rice – are not happy about the situation.
Forte’s contract is up, and as the franchise player for the Bears, he would make $7.742 million for 2012. This is a significant raise from the $600,000 he earned in 2011, in the last year of his rookie contract, but he has earned a long term deal. Rather than sit out last year under the argument that he was underpaid (which he was relative to his performance on the field), he played out the remainder of his contract. Now the franchise tag could push off his free agency payday by another year.
In the past, the franchise tag was used more judiciously, as the biggest stars were typically rewarded with contract extensions, leaving the franchise tag to be used on players that were worthy of a top-five salary, but usually not the biggest names on the team. For players like Brees, Forte and Rice to make this list is a sign that NFL teams are using the franchise more aggressively.
The unintended consequence that the owners and GM’s may discover is that this practice encourages a player like Forte to hold out when he still has a year left on his contract. He certainly wasn’t rewarded for putting the team first last year, and if he were injured this year while playing under a one year contract, he has no guarantees. And you can be certain that players around the league are watching.
