2014 franschise tag breakdown

[BronxColtNYC]

It's early but I wanted to see what people see now, then compare to the end of the season.

Here are our 2014 FA (I only posted candidates of franchise Tag)

Antonie Bethea

Vontae Davis

Pat Angerer

Kavell Conner

Pat McAfee

DHB

I predict most people will say Davis, but take into the account the tag cap hit/type of tag. (I'm going off current 2014 salaries so it doesn't take into effect any big contracts added)

Exclusive:

S: 8.55 MIL

CB: 10.4 MIL

LB: 9.58 mil

P: 3.38 mil

WR: 13.46

Also think of whether we use an exclusive or non exclusive tag. Here's the difference.

An "exclusive" franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of a date in April of the current year in which the tag will apply, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater.

A "non-exclusive" franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position for the previous year, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is less. A non-exclusive franchise player may negotiate with other NFL teams, but if he signs an offer sheet from another team, the original team has a right to match the terms of that offer, or if it does not match the offer and thus loses the player, is entitled to receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

Non exclusive:

Bethea 8.1 MIL

Davis: 2.46 mil

Conner: 595,000

Angerer: 987,000

Mcafee: 3.5 mil

DHB: 3 mil

We also have the right to tag an additional player with a transitional tag, that's acts much like a RFA would just without compensation or tender rights. a team can designate one additional player only as a transitional tag. A transition player must be offered a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of the prior (2013) season at the player's position or 120 percent of the player's prior year's salary, whichever is greater. A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match within seven days an offer sheet given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the club matches, it retains the player. If it does not match, it receives no compensation.

Transitional tag values

S: 7.6 mil

CB: 9.3 mil

LB: 9.18 mil

P: 3.07 mil

WR: 11.67 mil

So what would you do? Please be specific instead of just throwing out a name. Does this change anything for you?

Sportrac has an amazing site where you can see the numbers. http://www.spotrac.com/top-salaries/nfl/average/safety/

[BronxColtNYC]

For me, I would exclusive tag Davis at 10.4 mil

I would also Transitional tag bethea at 7.6 mil

[Nobody]

I'd tag nobody. Resign Conner, Vontae, McAfee, and DHB (I see a big year from him) to long term deals.

Bethea hinges on this and the next draft class. And if Byrd or another good FS is available and we get him that'd be great.

Really nobody worth the $ we have to pay to tag, except Pat, but I hope we just extend him.

[Gavin]

A little to early to say what I'd do but if Davis puts a whole year together like the end of the year he had last year then Davis should get the exclusive rights tag in my opinion

[NewColtsFan]

I'm not sure you can franchise tag and transitional tag in the same year.

 

I think you used to be able to do this....   but I'm not sure you still can?

 

If you can,  then I don't think a single team in the NFL did this year.    If so,  there must be a reason why it didn't happen....

 

I'd be very curious...

 

Either way,   thanks for all the digging for the good info.....    always appreciated!       

[Gavin]

As for Bethea with him turning 29 come late July his trade value may begin to go down soon, Im not saying definitly trade him before its to late but it wont hurt to draft a FS in the mid to late rounds that can learn behind Bethea and potentially replace him before Betheas trade value is next to nothing

[BronxColtNYC]

I'm not sure you can franchise tag and transitional tag in the same year.

 

I think you used to be able to do this....   but I'm not sure you still can?

 

If you can,  then I don't think a single team in the NFL did this year.    If so,  there must be a reason why it didn't happen....

 

I'd be very curious...

 

Either way,   thanks for all the digging for the good info.....    always appreciated!       

The transition tag is rarely used by NFL franchises. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the one-year transition offer is typically a large amount, which could provide the club with difficulties while attempting to keep the team's aggregate salaries under the salary cap. The other is that players often react badly to receiving the tag, because it limits their ability to negotiate with other teams and therefore hinders their chances of receiving the largest possible contract. Players sometimes counter the tag by holding out or refusing to play for the club, creating distractions and headaches for the club

Teams can use both franchise AND transition tag in same year.

[BronxColtNYC]

A little to early to say what I'd do but if Davis puts a whole year together like the end of the year he had last year then Davis should get the exclusive rights tag in my opinion

Why wouldn't we non exclusive tag Davis? If he signs an offer sheet, and we don't match, we get 2 first round picks. Interesting point.

[BronxColtNYC]

A little to early to say what I'd do but if Davis puts a whole year together like the end of the year he had last year then Davis should get the exclusive rights tag in my opinion

If know one throws an offer sheet his way, it would only cost us 2.46 mil. Win win?

[Gavin]

Why wouldn't we non exclusive tag Davis? If he signs an offer sheet, and we don't match, we get 2 first round picks. Interesting point.

Depends on how he does this year, if he puts a whole year together then, I wouldn't risk losing hom, Corners as good as he can be are not an every year occurrance in my opinion

[Gavin]

If know one throws an offer sheet his way, it would only cost us 2.46 mil. Win win?

It would be, depending on whats available next year in terms of Corners (I haven't looked) but with him being so young and talented I wouldn't put a non exclusive tag on him

[BronxColtNYC]

My reasoning behind keeping bethea is that he benefited by having bob Sanders on the field with him. Landry and Sanders have a lot of similarities in the way they play. With out a competent SS, bethea had to roam the box which doesn't bode well when your FS roams the box. Bethea had to virtually "do it all" after Sanders went down in 2009.

In 2007 and 2009, bethea had 4 interceptions each. You guessed it, pro bowl in both years.

With Landry in the box, bethea will return to pro bowl form. Plus, safeties last a lotlonger in today's NFL. See Dawkins, reed. Bethea is turning 29, arguably Still in his prime. I feel we should draft an eventual replacement, but bethea will surprise you with a competent safety next to him.

Bethea has always been a decent ballhawk, watch him return to form.

[In Luck We Trust]

It's early but I wanted to see what people see now, then compare to the end of the season.

Here are our 2014 FA (I only posted candidates of franchise Tag)

Antonie Bethea

Vontae Davis

Pat Angerer

Kavell Conner

Pat McAfee

DHB

I predict most people will say Davis, but take into the account the tag cap hit/type of tag. (I'm going off current 2014 salaries so it doesn't take into effect any big contracts added)

Exclusive:

S: 8.55 MIL

CB: 10.4 MIL

LB: 9.58 mil

P: 3.38 mil

WR: 13.46

Also think of whether we use an exclusive or non exclusive tag. Here's the difference.

An "exclusive" franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of a date in April of the current year in which the tag will apply, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater.

A "non-exclusive" franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position for the previous year, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is less. A non-exclusive franchise player may negotiate with other NFL teams, but if he signs an offer sheet from another team, the original team has a right to match the terms of that offer, or if it does not match the offer and thus loses the player, is entitled to receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

Non exclusive:

Bethea 8.1 MIL

Davis: 2.46 mil

Conner: 595,000

Angerer: 987,000

Mcafee: 3.5 mil

DHB: 3 mil

We also have the right to tag an additional player with a transitional tag, that's acts much like a RFA would just without compensation or tender rights. a team can designate one additional player only as a transitional tag. A transition player must be offered a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of the prior (2013) season at the player's position or 120 percent of the player's prior year's salary, whichever is greater. A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match within seven days an offer sheet given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the club matches, it retains the player. If it does not match, it receives no compensation.

Transitional tag values

S: 7.6 mil

CB: 9.3 mil

LB: 9.18 mil

P: 3.07 mil

WR: 11.67 mil

So what would you do? Please be specific instead of just throwing out a name. Does this change anything for you?

Sportrac has an amazing site where you can see the numbers. http://www.spotrac.com/top-salaries/nfl/average/safety/

Davis will prob just get a new contract anyway, Bethea i can see being tagged to keep him around at least 1 more year, Mcafee will more then likely be resigned, along with Conner too. but DHB will prob come down to if we draft a WR in this years draft or not i suppose, or who comes out of college in next years draft. lol

[GoColts8818]

Got to see how the season will play out. This time last year everyone was betting Powers would get the tag.

[dw49]

For me, I would exclusive tag Davis at 10.4 mil

I would also Transitional tag bethea at 7.6 mil

  

 

 

Bethea at 7.6 mill ? IMO .. never happen. The transition tag is pretty much never used. But in any event , what are the following numbers you list ?

 

 

 

Non exclusive:

Bethea 8.1 MIL

Davis: 2.46 mil

Conner: 595,000

Angerer: 987,000

Mcafee: 3.5 mil

DHB: 3 mil

 

 

The Conner # isn't even league minimum. What the heck is that ? Are you sure the rule states "which ever is less." I thought the 20% increase rule was more or less there to protect a player from being franchised two years in a row at around the same price. The SF safety was an example of this. He was tagged in 2012 , so if he was tagged agin in 2013 , the price would be the "greater"  (not smaller) price of 120% of 2012 salary or the # of the 2013 franchise price. 

 

There is no way you can offer Davis 2.46 mill on any tag and get 2 1st round picks as compensation if he's signed by another team.

 

I think you need to re-visit where you pulled this info from or visit another source as those numbers are crazy wrong.

[Mr. Blue]

I'd transitional tag Bethea, sign Davis and mcafee to long term deals, then if DHB, anger, or Connor show up big, then sign em.

[PrincetonTiger]

It is too early to say who would be FT but I think will be McAfee resigned to a long term deal by next year and DHB will only be in play if he has a good season this year

[John Waylon]

The tag is just too expensive anymore. With the new CBA, the tag has really become a tool to help a team keep one of the top 15 players at his position. It's not cap friendly, and we should bust our chops to get actual deals done with our FA, and not get our backs pressed against the wall and be forced to shoot ourselves in the foot with the tag.

[iM COLTSSTRONG]

i see us trying to lock up davis pretty early so we can hopefully get him  a lil cheaper before FA rolls around. Id like to see Bethea stay, bc hes a leader for the secondary and a vet that we need. i see us also locking up Boomstick.

[BronxColtNYC]

Bethea at 7.6 mill ? IMO .. never happen. The transition tag is pretty much never used. But in any event , what are the following numbers you list ?

 

 

 

Non exclusive:Bethea 8.1 MILDavis: 2.46 milConner: 595,000Angerer: 987,000Mcafee: 3.5 milDHB: 3 mil

 

 

The Conner # isn't even league minimum. What the heck is that ? Are you sure the rule states "which ever is less." I thought the 20% increase rule was more or less there to protect a player from being franchised two years in a row at around the same price. The SF safety was an example of this. He was tagged in 2012 , so if he was tagged agin in 2013 , the price would be the "greater"  (not smaller) price of 120% of 2012 salary or the # of the 2013 franchise price. 

 

There is no way you can offer Davis 2.46 mill on any tag and get 2 1st round picks as compensation if he's signed by another team.

 

I think you need to re-visit where you pulled this info from or visit another source as those numbers are crazy wrong.

You're correct. PFT said lesser of two on non exclusive but it was wrong.

Position. Non-Exclusive

Wide receiver. $8,867,000

Linebackers $9,619,000

Cornerbacks $9,090,000

The bethea numbers and McAfee numbers are correct.

Nice catch, still a cheaper option than exclusive. Starks from.Miami got the non exclusive tag before signing his deal.

[BronxColtNYC]

i see us trying to lock up davis pretty early so we can hopefully get him  a lil cheaper before FA rolls around. Id like to see Bethea stay, bc hes a leader for the secondary and a vet that we need. i see us also locking up Boomstick.

I would like us to wrap up Davis now on a long term deal, until he becomes 8-9 million expensive. But I don't see that happening be cause his cap hit is so low and some people still want to see more out of him.

[dw49]

You're correct. PFT said lesser of two on non exclusive but it was wrong.

Position. Non-Exclusive

Wide receiver. $8,867,000

Linebackers $9,619,000

Cornerbacks $9,090,000

The bethea numbers and McAfee numbers are correct.

Nice catch, still a cheaper option than exclusive. Starks from.Miami got the non exclusive tag before signing his deal.

 

 

 

Yea.. the non exclusive tag is the more common and the one you would use on all our guys , if you can find one worth using a tag on. IMO , the only one that even comes close would be Davis and you would certainly take 2 1st's for him. I'm not considering our punter as that's kind of a category by itself. I can't remember the last time a team used the transition tag. We did use it on Q. Coryatt around 15 years ago. 

[BronxColtNYC]

You're correct. PFT said lesser of two on non exclusive but it was wrong.

Position. Non-Exclusive

Wide receiver. $8,867,000

Linebackers $9,619,000

Cornerbacks $9,090,000

The bethea numbers and McAfee numbers are correct.

Nice catch, still a cheaper option than exclusive. Starks from.Miami got the non exclusive tag before signing his deal.

Yea.. the non exclusive tag is the more common and the one you would use on all our guys , if you can find one worth using a tag on. IMO , the only one that even comes close would be Davis and you would certainly take 2 1st's for him. I'm not considering our punter as that's kind of a category by itself. I can't remember the last time a team used the transition tag. We did use it on Q. Coryatt around 15 years ago.

G Steve Hutchinson was one of the more famous cases.

Hutchinson played five seasons for Seattle before departing for Minnesota in one of the more famous free-agent episodes in NFL history. In 2006, the Seahawks gave Hutchinson the transition tag, and Minnesota constructed an offer sheet that included a so-called “poison pill” that would have caused the contract to become fully guaranteed if Seattle matched the offer.

Hutchinson would play six seasons in Minnesota, making three Pro Bowls

[BronxColtNYC]

From CBS sports early this off-season:

Amendola is due to become an unrestricted free agent, and the team doesn't want to use its franchise tag on him since they'd have to pay him in excess of $10 million. Instead, Caplan reports, the Rams are looking into using the transition tag on Amendola as a tight end, which would cut his projected salary to $5.194 million.

[dw49]

G Steve Hutchinson was one of the more famous cases.

Hutchinson played five seasons for Seattle before departing for Minnesota in one of the more famous free-agent episodes in NFL history. In 2006, the Seahawks gave Hutchinson the transition tag, and Minnesota constructed an offer sheet that included a so-called “poison pill” that would have caused the contract to become fully guaranteed if Seattle matched the offer.

Hutchinson would play six seasons in Minnesota, making three Pro Bowls

  

 

 

Here's a little more insight as to how the tags have worked and as I noted the Transition tag is just about "obsolete."

 

 

From the USA Today

 

 

From a historical perspective, it's worth noting little happens once a player is tagged. Only three franchised players have switched teams since the mechanism was first used in 1993, and it hasn't happened since 1998 becaise it's virtually impossible to find a veteran player who's worth two first rounders. The last transition tag player to move was all-pro guard Steve Hutchinson in 2006, though that was largely because the Minnesota Vikings constructed a "poison pill" contract the Seattle Seahawks couldn't match without wrecking their own salary cap. Transitioning Hutchinson was a bad miscalculation by the Seahawks, who would've only needed to front around $500,000 more to franchise him, and virtually no team uses that tag anymore given the lack of protection it provides.

[BronxColtNYC]

Here's a little more insight as to how the tags have worked and as I noted the Transition tag is just about "obsolete."

 

 

From the USA Today

 

 

From a historical perspective, it's worth noting little happens once a player is tagged. Only three franchised players have switched teams since the mechanism was first used in 1993, and it hasn't happened since 1998 becaise it's virtually impossible to find a veteran player who's worth two first rounders. The last transition tag player to move was all-pro guard Steve Hutchinson in 2006, though that was largely because the Minnesota Vikings constructed a "poison pill" contract the Seattle Seahawks couldn't match without wrecking their own salary cap. Transitioning Hutchinson was a bad miscalculation by the Seahawks, who would've only needed to front around $500,000 more to franchise him, and virtually no team uses that tag anymore given the lack of protection it provides.

Good read.