NFL franchise tags: Too expensive for the Seahawks?
Feb 2, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; General view of the Super Bowl XLVIII logo as Seattle Seahawks quarterback throws the ball against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Broncos 43-8. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Franchise tagging started on Monday and teams will be allowed to tag players for the next two weeks.
The Seahawks have said they have three top-priority free agents that they want to keep for next season — Michael Bennett, Golden Tate and Steven Hauschka.
But how expensive would it be to keep all of them?
Bennett is a defensive end, which means a franchise tag would give him an annual salary of $12.4 million per year. Tate, a wide receiver, would earn $11.5 million a year. He earned $880,000 in 2013.
Hauschka would make $3.4 million next year if tagged.
With so many other players expecting salary increases next year, Seattle might not use a franchise tag on any of them. It’s just too expensive.
Here is a breakdown of how much each position costs with a franchise tag, via Josh Sanchez at Fansided.com:
- Quarterback: $16,086,000
- Defensive End: $12,475,000
- Wide Receiver: $11,539,000
- Cornerback: $11,256,000
- Offensive Linemen: $11,126,000
- Linebacker: $10,895,000
- Defensive Tackle: $9,182,000
- Running Back: $9,074,000
- Safety: $8,021,000
- Tight End: $6,709,000
- Kicker: $3,383,000
There are three types of franchise/transition tags and any team that tags a player must do one of these three options: Non-exclusive franchise tender, exclusive franchise tender, and transition player designation.