New England Patriots Risk Ire To Ink Vince Wilfork

After looking to profit from six years as a highly successful nose tackle for the New England Patriots, Vince Wilfork just received exactly what he wished to avoid.  The Patriots placed a franchise tag on Wilfork in an attempt to ensure they keep the defensive standout on the team in 2010.

Wilfork had expressed that his first wish was to remain a Patriot—but by way of a long-term deal in what he believed would be a gesture of respect after playing out his full rookie contract without seeking added compensation.

If he and the team were unable to reach an accord, Wilfork stated that he wanted to be on the open market, free to sign with the contract and situation he believed best suited his needs.

A month before the Patriots tagged Wilfork, he was quoted as describing the franchise tag as "decent money for most people out there. What I do, it's OK…but I don't look at myself as an OK player. Like I said, it's just basically a slap in my face and an insult to me to basically tell me I'm an OK player."

The one-year salary of the franchise tag looks to be just more than $7 million for the 2010 season. With a nonexclusive franchise tag, Wilfork is allowed to make visits with other teams and sign an offer sheet elsewhere. 

The restricting factor of the tag falls under New England’s right to match the offer—and if New England declines, then the other team would have to surrender two first-round draft picks as compensation.

That high price makes it highly unlikely that any team would even bother to pursue Wilfork—a facet the 325-pounder hopes will translate into buying contract bargaining time instead of simply forcing the 28-year-old tackle into a one-year deal.

"The franchise tag has been applied," Wilfork said in a statement. "After six years of dedicated service, I do understand this is a business. With that being said, it is my hope that the tag is applied for its true purpose: For the purpose of allotting more time for us to continue our talks and be able to reach a long-term agreement. Only time will tell what the final result will be."

If the New England Patriots can hammer out a long-term contract deal in the ensuing months, it would run contrary to the team’s history when applying the tag.  As the Patriots are a notoriously tight-lipped organization, progress on that front will be hard to determine until a contract is officially signed.

If that contract is not met and Wilfork is franchised, the Patriots may have earned themselves the ill will of a vital cog in the team’s defensive front.  It may not translate into a holdout, but it could severely hamper any bargaining efforts to strike a long-term deal afterward.

Either way, it appears Wilfork isn’t going to see anything of the open market this offseason.