By Mark Maske Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, February 11, 2005; 12:03 PM
It is the time of the year when NFL teams infuriate some of their best players by exercising their rights under the collective bargaining agreement.
It's time for clubs to hand out franchise-player tags.
Player, Position, Team, Player Salary John Abraham, DE, Jets ($6.666 million) . . . Unsigned Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks ($6.323 million) . . . Unsigned Drew Brees, QB, Chargers ($8.078 million) . . . Unsigned Donovin Darius, S, Jaguars ($4.968 million) . . . Signed one-year franchise tender, March 1 Darren Howard, DE, Saints ($7.8036 million) . . . Unsigned Edgerrin James, RB, Colts ($8.081 million) . . . Signed one-year franchise tender, March 16 Rudi Johnson, RB, Bengals ($6.323 million)… Signed one-year franchise tender, March 1… Signed five-year, $26 million contract extension, March 15 Orlando Pace, T, Rams ($8.4252 million) . . . Signed seven-year, $52.8 million contract extension, March 16 Julian Peterson, LB, 49ers ($7.2876 million)… Signed one-year franchise tender, March 25 Corey Simon, DT, Eagles ($5.134 million) . . . Unsigned Adam Vinatieri, K, Patriots ($2.509 million) . . . Unsigned Charles Woodson, CB, Raiders ($10.539 million) . . . Signed one-year franchise tender, Feb. 25 Transition Player Bubba Franks, TE, Packers ($2.095 million) . . . Unsigned
The Philadelphia Eagles got things going Thursday by placing their franchise tag on defensive tackle Corey Simon. The New York Jets reportedly informed defensive end John Abraham on Wednesday that he would be their franchise player. All told, about a dozen clubs could hand out franchise tags by the Feb. 22 deadline.
Players hate the franchise tag because it reduces -- or eliminates -- their mobility on the free agent market. Using the tag gives a player's previous team the right to retain him by matching any contract offer that he receives from another club, and the right to receive two first-round draft choices as compensation from the player's new club if he is allowed to move on. If a team goes a step further and makes a player its exclusive franchise player, he is taken off the market altogether and cannot even negotiate with other clubs.
The use of the franchise tag often leads to discord between player and team, and regularly produces a training-camp holdout. In truth, though, the players' ire is unwarranted. Teams don't throw fits every time they lose players via free agency. And the franchise-player tag is, like free agency, simply part of the system crafted through collective bargaining between the league and the players' union. If players are unhappy about the system, their anger should be directed at their union, not their teams.
Players don't like the franchise tag because it causes them to miss out on the hefty signing bonuses available in free agency. But a player with the franchise tag receives a one-year deal with a salary equal to the average salary of the five highest-paid players in the league at his position (or a 20 percent raise over his salary the previous season, whichever is greater). This offseason, the franchise-player figures range from $1.787 million for kickers to $8.816 million for cornerbacks. And if a player is named the exclusive franchise player, that figure is adjusted upward later in the offseason to reflect upcoming signings. Last offseason, for instance, the exclusive-franchise-player salary for Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson went from $6.801 million in February to $8.7824 million with a May readjustment. So what's the big gripe?
The San Diego Chargers likely will place the franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees next week. Brees was one of the league's most valuable players last season and the Chargers probably will keep him and prized youngster Philip Rivers for at least one more season before picking one for the long haul. The franchise-player salary of $8.078 million for a quarterback is cumbersome to a club's salary cap. But the Chargers are about $21 million under next season's cap of $85.5 million per team, so they have flexibility.
The team with the most interesting choice to make is the Seattle Seahawks, whose list of players eligible for unrestricted free agency on March 2 includes quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, tailback Shaun Alexander and left tackle Walter Jones. Seattle can designate only one franchise player.
Other players in line to possibly receive the franchise designation include Indianapolis Colts tailback Edgerrin James, Cincinnati Bengals tailback Rudi Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress, St. Louis Rams left tackle Orlando Pace, Green Bay Packers tight end Bubba Franks, New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri and Jacksonville Jaguars safety Donovin Darius. Washington Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot probably escaped the franchise tag when the figure for cornerbacks came in higher than many in the league had expected.
Jones, Pace and Darius were among the 10 players given franchise-player tags by their teams last offseason. Three of those 10 -- Woodson, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson -- were named exclusive franchise players.
Of those 10, three (Manning, Packers left tackle Chad Clifton and Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister) ended up signing long-term contracts with their teams. One (cornerback Champ Bailey) ended up with a long-term deal with a new club after being traded from the Redskins to the Denver Broncos. Six (Woodson, Pace, Darius, Jones, Peterson and New Orleans Saints defensive end Darren Howard) ended up playing for one-year contracts based on their franchise-player tender offers.
It's possible that some teams will follow the Colts' model, with Manning, and use the franchise tag simply to buy more time in negotiating a long-term contract with a player, or follow the Redskins' model, with Bailey, and use the tag to retain a player's rights long enough to trade him.
Mangini Leaning Toward Browns? Patriots defensive backs coach Eric Mangini is scheduled to be in Cleveland today to meet with Browns officials about their defensive-coordinator job. The Browns are hopeful of hiring Mangini before he leaves town.
"We're optimistic about clinching it," Browns General Manager Phil Savage said during a conference call with reporters Thursday, "but you never know."
The Patriots, Browns and Miami Dolphins are in a three-way competition to land Mangini as defensive coordinator. Patriots Coach Bill Belichick wants to promote him to replace Romeo Crennel, who left this week to become the Browns' head coach, but Mangini is a coaching free agent because his contract with New England is expiring. The Dolphins want to land him to work on the staff of new coach Nick Saban, a former Belichick assistant.
Mangini visited the Dolphins on Wednesday but left South Florida without agreeing to a contract. The Dolphins appear to be running third in the Mangini derby. They are handing out sizable contracts to assemble Saban's staff. But Mangini doesn't know Saban well, and Saban has a reputation for being a difficult boss. The Browns are in good position to land Mangini because of his relationships with Crennel and with Savage, with whom he once worked when both were with the Ravens. Mangini's family also could be drawn to Cleveland because he is the brother-in-law of Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro.
But his loyalty to Belichick, who gave him his first job in coaching, cannot be discounted, even if the Browns and Dolphins end up far outbidding the Patriots. Mangini rejected a $1 million-a-year offer last offseason to become the Raiders' defensive coordinator, remaining with the Patriots for a salary of just more than $200,000 for the just-completed season. . . .
The Browns could complete the hiring of Maurice Carthon as their offensive coordinator today. He was the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator the past two seasons. What that will mean to the future of Terry Robiskie, who began this past season as Cleveland's offensive coordinator under former coach Butch Davis and ended it as the Browns' interim head coach, remains unclear. He has expressed a desire to remain in Cleveland, perhaps as Crennel's wide receivers coach, and met with Crennel on Thursday . . . .
Savage hired Bill Rees, who spent the past four years as an executive and scout for the 49ers, as his director of player personnel . . . . The Seahawks hired Bob Casullo as their special-teams coach. He was the Jets' tight ends coach this past season and formerly was the Raiders' special-teams coach . . . . The Packers hired former University of Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill as their director of player development.
Vikings' Sale Close? KSTP-TV in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area reported that Arizona businessman Reggie Fowler is close to completing an agreement to purchase the Minnesota Vikings from Red McCombs. McCombs has been seeking more than $600 million as he shops the franchise to rival investment groups, one headed by Fowler and one headed by Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor.
Fowler would be the first African-American majority owner of an NFL team. It was reported last week that retired NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith would join Fowler's group, but Smith denied those reports.
