Draft Impact: 21 NFL Teams Use the Franchise Tag in 2012

Franchise Tag Monday has come and gone, and just about two-thirds of the NFL found players worthy of the tag. What conclusions can we make from the use of tag this year?

Fewer Top Free Agents are Going to Hit the Market

As you can see, franchise tag values are down across the board under the new CBA formula:

Position	2012 Franchise Tag Value*	2011 Franchise Tag Value
Quarterback	$14.4 million	$16.1 million
Running Back	$7.7 million	$9.6 million
Wide Receiver	$9.4 million	$11.4 million
Tight End	$5.4 million	$7.3 million
Offensive Line	$9.4 million	$10.1 million
Defensive End	$10.6 million	$13 million
Defensive Tackle	$7.9 million	$12.5 million
Linebacker	$8.8 million	$10.1 million
Cornerback	$10.6 million	$13.5 million
Safety	$6.2 million	$8.8 million

(courtesy of CBSSports)

Teams will be more inclined to risk paying the one-year salary so they can buy extra time to work out a long-term deal or recoup two first-round picks in the event another team signs the player to a deal that they don't want to match.

Draft Impact: Picks (especially first-rounders) become more valuable because they will increasingly become the primary way to add long-term starters.

Kickers are Being Tagged in Record Numbers

Five out of the 21 players tagged this year were kickers. Is it because the franchise tag number of $2.6 million is a great bargain? Not really, the 2011 marquee kicker free agent, David Akers, got $3 million a year, not much more than the franchise tag number.

No, it's because teams value a clutch and quality kicker, but they don't seem to trust them to stay at that level for the long haul. At least, that's what we must speculate without knowing exactly what contract terms were exchanged and rejected before the tag was applied.

Draft Impact: It's harder to find a good kicker in free agency, and the entire term of a mid-round rookie contract (such as the one Philadelphia gave fourth-rounder Alex Henery, the first kicker taken in 2011) is less than one year at the franchise tag. There's a larger incentive now to spend a third-day pick or priority free-agent contract bonus on a promising young kicker.

Safety and Tight End Tag Numbers are Below Market Value

Three safeties (Michael Griffin, Tyvon Branch, Dashon Goldson) and a tight end (Fred Davis) were franchised at the lowest values of any position outside of kicker and punter.

What do these players have in common? Well, none of them belong on a list with Wes Welker, Drew Brees, Ray Rice and Matt Forte in terms of true "franchise" players, or possibly even Calais Campbell and Brent Grimes as one of the better players at their position. The franchise tag numbers are low enough that the market for these positions in free agency will get even tighter.

Draft Impact: Even though these positions are usually devalued in the draft, the prospect of being able to keep a safety or tight end who hits for an additional year at a low cost may give a team the extra nudge to draft one they like in the mid-rounds.

The Tag is Being Used Increasingly as a Contract-Negotiation Tool

The most glaring case of this is Drew Brees, but many of the other players mentioned are ones that the teams seem to have full intentions of signing to a long-term deal. Teams have until July 15 to sign tagged players to a long-term contract, so both team and player can watch the market set by free agency at their position and also know the outcome of the draft to gain or lose leverage in negotiations.

Will this tactic backfire? Whether more players or teams win out in the end will affect future use of the tag in this fashion. Teams like Buffalo and Green Bay who were able to sign franchise-tag candidates WR Steve Johnson and TE Jermichael Finley before the deadline may look very smart once the dust settles.

Draft Impact: Teams in protracted negotiations with tagged players may be more inclined to use a pick at that player's position as a hard-line negotiation tactic.