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WR franchise/transition tags

Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff January 31, 2008 06:27 PM

The NFL Players Association held its annual press conference at the Super Bowl today. As is the case every year, the union released the franchise and transition tags at each position.

Of interest to the Patriots are the figures at receiver, as Randy Moss is scheduled to be a free agent after the season.

The franchise tag is $7.848 million.

The transition tag is $6.872 million.

So if the Patriots decide they want to retain Moss, but can't reach a long-term deal with him, they could potentially choose either of these options to strengthen their chances of retaining him.

If another team signs a franchise-tagged player, that team must forfeit draft-pick compensation to the original club, and that rarely happens in the NFL. If another team signs a transition-tagged player, the original team still has the chance to match the deal.

3 comments so far...

  1. Do we know if Samuel is completely out of the picture for being franchised instead? I don't think it's inconceivable for the Pats to bite the bullet and pay him the 20% over this year's salary, especially if it's comparable to this year's franchise number for CBs (which should be substantially higher than this year's number after the Clements and Bly contracts). Or at the very least, they could use it as a bargaining tool. The Pats could be in a jam at CB this year, especially if Gay is signed away by a team like the Jets.

    Posted by MarkZ January 31, 08 07:08 PM
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  1. According to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, who cites NFL and team officials on this, there is a technicality in the CBA that prevents the Patriots from adjusting Moss' contract until February 29th. So Moss will hit the open waters of free agency unless the Patriots place the franchise tag on him, but no agreement can be reached beforehand.

    Moss will keep an eye on the contract situations involving Chad Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Owens, who are all angling for new deals in an off-season where there are no quality free agent WRs available.

    The franchise number for cornerbacks this year is $9.465 million, which is a more than 20% increase in what Samuels is being paid this season.

    Posted by Mac January 31, 08 08:48 PM
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  1. MarkZ, Samuel can't be franchised as a provision of the contract he signed for this season.

    Posted by Lance Jonn Romanoff February 1, 08 02:56 PM
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