NFL Dallas Cowboys

Franchise Tag May Be Best Option For Dez Bryant

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Dez Bryant Dallas Cowboys

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The day NFL players won the right to become free agents, they finally won the right to have more control over their careers and no longer felt like they were the property of the league’s owners. Once their rookie contracts were up, they were free to sign with whatever team paid them the most or gave them the best opportunity to reach their professional goals.

Well, in order to level the playing field a bit, the owners came up with what’s called the franchise tag, which is an option that allows them to keep one player per year from hitting the free agent market, and it gives the team exclusive negotiating rights with that player in hopes of retaining them long term.

Players used to hate getting this tag because it temporarily took away their opportunity to get a long-term deal. In many cases, it forced them to either risk playing another season under a one-year contract with the possibly of suffering a career-ending injury, or it forced them to choose a long-term deal that was lower than the expected value they would get on the open market if they simply waited another year, because they didn’t want to risk that potential injury.

But players are beginning to bet on themselves more and more these days, because if they actually do make it through the season healthy and continue to perform at a high level, they hold all of the leverage at the negotiating table. Each year they are tagged they are given the average salary of the top five players at their position, or 120 percent of their salary from the year before, whichever number is higher. And as each year goes by, salary numbers continue to rise.

Players are starting to realize that teams are getting the better end of these long-term deals by back loading the bulk of their contract dollars on the last few years of the deal. So when it comes time to pay them the big money they were promised, teams simply cut the player before the June 1 deadline and essentially terminate the contract. Players and their agents have gotten smarter and are now negotiating guaranteed money in their contracts, but until a long-term agreement is in place, getting a one-year guaranteed salary that ranks in the top five of your position isn’t a bad deal.

Teams can only franchise tag non-quarterbacks up to two years, and if they happen to be a quarterback, they can get up 140 percent on the third and final year of the tag.

So, Dez Bryant really shouldn’t be all that insulted if the Dallas Cowboys decide to place the franchise tag on him in March, because if they do, he is looking at getting a one-year deal of around $12.8 million. They still have the opportunity to sign him to a long-term deal during the season, but even if they don’t and they decide to tag him again, he is looking at getting a 120 percent raise at the very least next year.

This is all good news for Cowboys fans, as it gives both sides ample opportunity and time to get what they both want: a contract that pays Bryant exactly what he deserves and a deal that helps keep him around for the length of his career.

Kelly Anderson is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @bgipp01 or add him to your network on Google.

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