The Green Bay Packers have only used the franchise tag five times in the team’s history. The NFL introduced the franchise tag in 1993.
The franchise tag is a one-year, fully guaranteed tender that allows a team to keep a player who will be an unrestricted free agent.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has called it a “last resort” and a way to create time necessary for figuring out a long-term contract, although using the tag sometimes ends in an unhappy player being traded away.
The Packers are highly unlikely to use the tag in 2023.
Here’s a complete history of the team’s usage of the franchise tag:
WR Davante Adams, 2022
Year: 2022
Resolution: Traded to Raiders
The Packers traded Adams to the Raiders for first-round and second-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft.
DL Ryan Pickett, 2010
Year: 2010
Resolution: Contract extension
Pickett and the Packers eventually agreed to a four-year, $28 million deal ahead of the 2010 season.
DL Corey Williams, 2008
Year: 2008
Resolution: Traded to Browns
The Packers traded Williams to the Browns for a second-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft.
WR Antonio Freeman, 1999
Year: 1999
Resolution: Contract extension
Freeman and the Packers eventually agreed to a seven-year, $42 million deal in August of 1999.
RB Dorsey Levens, 1998
Year: 1998
Resolution: Contract extension
Levens and the Packers eventually agreed to a five-year, $25 million deal in September of 1998.
