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Why the Seattle Seahawks should franchise tag QB Geno Smith

By Jake Luppino

SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 01: Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks talks with head coach Pete Carroll in between plays against the New York Jets during the second half of the game at Lumen Field on January 1, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks won 23-6. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 01: Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks talks with head coach Pete Carroll in between plays against the New York Jets during the second half of the game at Lumen Field on January 1, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks won 23-6. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images) /
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With the offseason officially underway, many feel the number 1 task for the Seattle Seahawks is retaining QB Geno Smith. After an unprecedented 2022 regular season, Smith is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

Seattle has been adamant about re-signing Geno prior to the start of free agency. The news coming from last week of Dave Canales being hired as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has some concern that Geno could follow in his footsteps. While negotiations are reportedly underway between Seattle and Geno Smith, one way in which they can prevent him from following Canales to Tampa Bay, or anywhere else for that matter, would be the franchise tag.

On Tuesday, February 21, the window officially opened for clubs to hit their unrestricted free agents with either the franchise or transition tag. If a team were to use the franchise tag, they have the option between a non-exclusive and an exclusive franchise tag. The difference in tags is explained below:

Why the Seattle Seahawks should franchise tag Geno Smith

  • Non-exclusive franchise tag: One-year tender of the average of top-five salaries at the player’s position over the last 5 years or 120 percent of their previous salary, whichever is higher. Said player can still negotiate with other teams. The incumbent team has the right to match any offer to said player or receive two 1st-round draft picks as compensation if said player signed elsewhere.
  • Exclusive franchise tag: One-year tender of the average top-five salaries at players’ position over the current year or 120 percent of their previous salary, whichever is higher. In this case, the incumbent team retains the sole right to negotiate with said player.
  • Transition tag: One-year tender of the average top-ten salaries at a player’s position. Said player can negotiate with other teams. The Incumbent has the right to first refusal of any offer said player receives from another club. If said player signs elsewhere, there is no draft compensation.

The deadline to apply one of these tags is March 7. The right way to go about this would be to apply the non-exclusive franchise tag on Geno Smith. The salary designed for the franchise tag at the quarterback position is $32.416M. Really, there are two main reasons why.

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