The franchise tag is typically a rough deal for NFL stars seeking the financial stability of a long-term contract. It’s even worse in 2024.
The league’s salary cap exploded by a record 13 percent, clocking in at more than $255 million for the upcoming season. That’s going to lead to a booming market of player contracts — except for those who are franchise tagged and playing on a pay scale based on deals signed well before this pivotal offseason.
It began February 23 when reports broke the Cincinnati Bengals would be franchising star wideout Tee Higgins for the upcoming season. It was a common sense move that allows the team extra time to work out a contract without having to worry about competing offers on the table.
Bengals have informed WR Tee Higgins they are franchising him. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/YUl2Ni62SJ
— NFL (@NFL) February 24, 2024
If no extension can be reached, Cincinnati at least has the comfort of knowing it has Higgins for one more season. The same goes for the teams and players that followed as the league’s March 5 deadline looms. Here’s who has been franchise tagged for the 2024 NFL season.
WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Cost: $21,816,000
The Bengals have the cash reserves to sign Higgins to a long-term, big money extension. They’re going to have to if they want to keep him happy, because franchise tagging him is going to keep him out of a boom market for wideouts.
A tag of just under $22 million could be significantly less than the annual average salary Higgins would make on the open market. Letting him play it out would carve a path for his departure. But Cincinnati has an estimated $50 million to spend this offseason thanks to this year’s unprecedented salary cap bump. There’s an avenue to retain Higgins for years to come AND the team’s financial flexibility going forward.
That’s great, because Joe Burrow has thrived with a high impact receiving duo. Higgins’ big frame and ability to explode downfield leaves defenses struggling to contain either him or teammate Ja’Marr Chase. A Bengals offense operating at peak efficiency probably has Higgins in the starting lineup.
CB L'Jarius Sneed, Kansas City Chiefs
Cost: $19,802,000
Kansas City’s third Super Bowl ring in five years came differently than the first two. It was the product of a smothering defense as much as it was Patrick Mahomes’ passing game. Sneed was a massive part of that.
That led the Chiefs to franchise tag their All-Pro slot cornerback and prevent him from reaching the open market. The reigning champions have a handful of difficult free agent decisions to make, from Chris Jones to Donovan Smith to a glaring need at wideout. Tagging Sneed sets one solution in motion.
EDGE Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers
Cost: $24,007,000
Carolina cut off contract extension talks with Burns earlier in the week, but made sure that window remained open by franchise tagging him one week before the league’s legal tampering window opened. Burns was a rare bright spot in another lost season for the Panthers; a player who continued to get to the quarterback despite a myriad of double-teams thanks to his status as the brightest star in a dim constellation. He should be the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild — but with David Tepper calling the shots, who knows?
S Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cost: $17,123,000
Winfield has been invaluable to the Buccaneers’ defense since being drafted in 2020, but his 2023 was his best season by a wide margin. He proved to be a chaos agent in deep center field and near the line of scrimmage, knocking down 12 passes, forcing six fumbles, notching six sacks and hauling in three interceptions.
That versatility — and Mike Evans’ hammered-out two-year extension — led Tampa Bay to franchise tag the indepensible safety. Winfield was vital to a bend-don’t-break defense that forced turnovers at opportune times and clamped shut in the red zone. Now the team has extra time to work out what could be a record-setting extension with its All-Pro defensive back.
DT Justin Madubuike, Baltimore Ravens
Cost: $22,102,000
Madubuike broke through in a big way last year. His 33 quarterback hits were more than double his career total (16 in three seasons). This took him from “useful starter” to “burgeoning star” and set him up for a massive payday this spring.
The Ravens, however, may be a bit leery about an outlier year. Madubuike is, at the very least, a viable starter for a contending team. But paying him like a superstar only makes sense if he can keep 2023’s pace. With a new defensive coordinator in tow, Baltimore may sit back and collect data from 2024 before making a decision on a big money, long-term contract for the former third round pick.
EDGE Josh Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars
Cost: $24,007,000
Allen realized his potential with a breakthrough 17.5-sack 2023 season. Unfortunately, that couldn’t prevent the Jaguars’ late-season spiral out of the playoff race.
Jacksonville’s other moves Tuesday suggest a rebuild is coming. The Jags released Darious Williams and Rayshawn Jenkins, pinning the blame for that collapse on an overworked secondary. Allen, however, gets to stick around as the foundation for a potential playoff run. Even if he can’t reclaim his career-best form he’s been a stable pass rushing presence throughout his five-year NFL career.
CB Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears
Cost: $19,802,000
Johnson struggled early in his NFL career but emerged as a lockdown corner in a brilliant 2023. His 50.9 passer rating allowed in coverage was fifth-lowest in the league. That made him an irreplacable part of a defense that ranked third-most efficient following its trade for Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat.
The Bears have cash to burn this spring thanks to an estimated $75 million in salary cap space. Tagging Johnson puts a dent in that, but it’s a reasonable cost for a rising player. Chicago’s fortunes rose with him last fall; together, they could create the leverage for the franchise’s first playoff win since 2011.
S Kyle Dugger, New England Patriots
Cost: $13,815,000 (transition tag)
Dugger didn’t earn the franchise tag, but New England still opted to give itself right of first refusal when other teams come calling for the dynamic, hard-hitting safety. The Lenoir-Rhyne product emerged as a vital part of a high performing defense and was one of the few bright spots in the waning years of the Bill Belichick era. The transition tag will make it easier to keep him in Foxborough, though that’s no guarantee.
WR Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
Cost: $21,816,000
Pittman would have been a sought-after free agent as a reliable short- and intermediate-range target for a rising young quarterback. That’s why the Colts opted to keep him paired with their own second-year stud Anthony Richardson. Richardson’s rookie campaign was limited to four games, two of which he left due to injury, but he showed flashes of being the franchise quarterback for whom Indianapolis has searched since Andrew Luck’s retirement.
Pittman had his most productive season as a pro in 2023. With Gardner Minshew behind center most of the year, he sprang for career highs of 109 catches and 1,152 yards with just three drops. At 26 years old he’ll have the chance to continue growing as Richardson and the Colts look for their first playoff win since 2018.
