USA TODAY International Edition
Franchise tags will have markdowns from 2011
This is an important week for NFL stars such as Arian Foster and Ray Rice and teams looking to restock their cupboards for next season.
The franchise tag period runs through March 5, and each team can choose one player with an expiring contract who would receive a one- year deal in lieu of a long- term contract or becoming a free agent.
This offseason is the first full one under the new collective bargaining agreement, which stipulates that a tagged player will no longer receive the average of the five highest- paid players at his position.
Instead, the salary for those players will be determined by a complicated formula that factors in franchise tags for the previous five years.
It means less money for those who are tagged in 2012. For example, according to NFL. com, citing league officials, a tagged quarterback will get an estimated $ 14.4 million in 2012 as opposed to $ 16.1 million last year.
Candidates to get a franchise tag have expressed mixed sentiments over the possibility of forgoing long- term stability for a one- year handcuff.
The Houston Texans face little available salary- cap space and two stars with expiring contracts. Linebacker Mario Williams’ six- year, $ 54 million rookie deal is up next month, and Foster will become a restricted free agent unless a deal is reached.
Williams has expressed loyalty to the Texans and says he’s open to a pay cut, telling news reporters last week that a monster free agent contract is “really not that big of a deal to me.”
Foster’s agent, Mike Mccartney, says his client would not be upset with being tagged. “I think it’s part of the business,” Mccartney told 790- AM radio in Houston. “The ultimate goal is a long- term deal where this marriage continues. . . . It’s just part of the process. The Texans have to do what’s right for them at the beginning of this, and we’ll adjust accordingly. It won’t offend us in any way. We’ll do our best to have a long- term deal.”
But Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril says he will consider holding out if he’s locked into a one- year deal. “There’s a lot of different possibilities, and that’s one of the possibilities — not showing up,” Avril told the Detroit Free Press. “That’s not the plan, obviously.”
Other standouts who could get the tag include Baltimore Ravens running back Rice, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, Cleveland Browns linebacker D’qwell Jackson and Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell.
Around the league:
Former Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson landed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an assistant working with defensive backs and special teams, the team announced. . . . Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson says he will start running Feb. 28, almost two months after having surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.