NFL Franchise Tag Explained: Exclusive, Non-Exclusive and Transition
The franchise tag is a one-year, fully guaranteed contract that lets an NFL team keep a player who would otherwise reach free agency, at a salary set by a formula in the collective bargaining agreement rather than by negotiation. Teams get one tag per year, and it comes in three versions — exclusive, non-exclusive, and transition — each with a different price tag and a different amount of leverage for the player.
Every team can use exactly one of these tags per offseason, on one player, and only if that player's contract has expired. It's a stopgap, not a long-term answer — a way to buy a year of control while the sides keep negotiating (or don't).
The Three Tags at a Glance
| Salary Formula | Can Player Negotiate Elsewhere? | Compensation If He Leaves | How Often Used | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-exclusive franchise tag | Greater of: average of the top 5 cap hits at the position over the last 5 years (applied to the current cap), or 120% of the player's prior salary | Yes | Two first-round picks if original team doesn't match | Most common; the default tag |
| Exclusive franchise tag | Greater of: average of the top 5 salaries at the position for the current year, or the non-exclusive tag amount | No | N/A — player can't leave | Rare; almost always quarterbacks |
| Transition tag | Average of the top 10 salaries at the position, or 120% of prior salary, whichever is greater | Yes | None — original team just has right of first refusal | Very rare; teams get no safety net |
Sources: NFL Football Operations, Colts.com, CBS Sports
The Non-Exclusive Tag
This is the version you'll see used almost every year — it's the "default" franchise tag. Per NFL Football Operations, the salary equals the greater of the Cap Percentage Average for the position (a formula built from the top five cap hits at that position over the previous five years, translated to the current salary cap) or 120% of the player's own prior-year salary.
The player is technically free to sign an offer sheet with another team. If he does, his original club has a right of first refusal: it can match the offer and keep him, or decline and receive two first-round draft picks as compensation. In practice, that price tag is so steep that rival teams almost never sign a tagged player to an offer sheet — no team wants to hand over two first-rounders for a player it might not even end up with if the original team matches. So the non-exclusive tag functions in reality much like a one-year deal with the original team, even though "free agency" technically exists on paper.
The Exclusive Tag
The exclusive tag removes even that theoretical option: the player cannot sign with, or even negotiate with, any other team. In exchange for locking him down completely, the team pays for it. Per NFL.com and NFL Football Operations, the salary is the greater of the average of the top five salaries at the position for the current league year (not a trailing five-year average) or the non-exclusive tag amount — whichever is higher. Because it's benchmarked to what's happening at the position right now rather than a lagging average, it can be noticeably pricier in a year when top salaries at a position are rising fast.
Because of that cost and the total lack of leverage it leaves the player, teams reserve the exclusive tag almost exclusively for quarterbacks, where total lockdown is worth the premium. It's been used only a handful of times across recent CBA years.
The Transition Tag
The transition tag is the least team-friendly version, which is exactly why it's rarely used. The salary is based on the average of the top 10 salaries at the position (rather than the top 5), or 120% of the player's prior salary, whichever is greater — a lower bar than the exclusive tag but still a real commitment. The player can negotiate and sign an offer sheet with any team, and the original club again gets right of first refusal. The catch: if the team declines to match, it receives zero draft-pick compensation. That asymmetry — real financial exposure with no safety net if a rival poaches the player — is why front offices reach for it so rarely, usually only when they want a player back relatively cheaply and are testing whether the market produces a real competing offer. In 2026, the Indianapolis Colts used the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones rather than the pricier exclusive tag.
Teams cannot use both a franchise tag and a transition tag in the same year — it's one designated tag per team, full stop.
How the Tag Salary Is Calculated
Take the non-exclusive tag, the one you'll encounter most. The league takes the cap hits of the five highest-paid players at a given position over the previous five seasons, expresses each of those years' top-five average as a percentage of that season's salary cap, averages those percentages, and then applies the resulting percentage to the current year's cap. That "Cap Percentage Average" — not a flat five-year dollar average — is compared against 120% of the player's own prior-year salary, and the player gets whichever number is bigger.
Worked example using real 2026 numbers: the non-exclusive franchise tag for a wide receiver was $27.298 million, calculated off the 2026 salary cap of $301.2 million. When the Dallas Cowboys tagged George Pickens in February 2026, that $27.298 million figure — not a negotiated number — became his fully guaranteed salary, because it's tied to the position, not to his individual market value. Had Pickens instead earned $18 million the year before, 120% of that ($21.6 million) would still have been lower than the position number, so the Cap Percentage Average would have set his salary either way.
What It Costs to Tag the Same Player Twice
Tagging the same player in consecutive years gets progressively more expensive, and the escalators are steep by design — the CBA wants tagging to be a short-term bridge, not a permanent replacement for a real contract.
- First tag: the standard formula above.
- Second consecutive tag: 120% of the player's previous franchise-tag salary (or the position's fresh tag number, if that's higher).
- Third consecutive tag: the greatest of (a) the quarterback tag amount, (b) 120% of the average of the top five salaries at the player's position, or (c) 144% of his second tag salary.
That third-tag math is punishing in practice. When Washington explored a third franchise tag on Kirk Cousins, his tender would have jumped to roughly $34.5 million — a 44% increase over his prior tag salary, illustrating the 144% multiplier in action. Costs like that are exactly why a third tag on the same player has essentially never been used since the current formula took effect: by year three, it's almost always cheaper for a team to negotiate a long-term deal, trade the player, or simply let him walk.
The Tag Calendar
The league sets a firm window each year for applying tags, and a separate, later deadline for converting a tag into a long-term contract.
- Tag application window: mid-February through early March. In 2026, teams could apply franchise or transition tags from February 17 through 4:00 p.m. ET on March 3.
- Extension deadline: teams and tagged players can negotiate a multi-year deal up until July 15 (the transition tag carries its own, slightly later cutoff around July 21–22). If no long-term deal is reached by that date, the player can only play that season on the one-year tag salary — the two sides are barred from re-opening long-term talks until after the season ends.
- Season eligibility deadline: a tagged player who still hasn't signed his tender must do so before the Tuesday following Week 10 of the regular season, or he's ineligible to play the rest of that year.
Free agency typically opens shortly after the tag deadline, which is why tag decisions and the legal-tampering window are closely linked — see our guide on how NFL free agency works.
What the Tag Means for the Player
For the player, the tag is a mixed bag, and players and agents have debated its fairness for decades.
The upside: the tag salary is fully guaranteed the moment the tender is signed, it's usually a raise over his prior contract, and at premium positions the year-over-year number can be enormous — the 2026 quarterback tag alone was worth $43.895 million. A tagged player also isn't at the mercy of a slow market; he has certainty and cash now.
The downside: a tag is only a one-year deal. It doesn't provide the long-term financial security of a multi-year contract, and every year on the tag is a year of injury risk without the guaranteed money a healthy long-term deal would lock in. Being tagged also takes a player off the open market, where his leverage — and often his true price — is highest; the non-exclusive tag's theoretical freedom to sign elsewhere is undercut by the two-first-round-pick compensation that keeps rival teams away in almost all cases.
That tension has produced real friction. The most famous case is running back Le'Veon Bell, tagged in back-to-back years by the Pittsburgh Steelers; rather than play the 2018 season on his second tag, he sat out the entire year, forfeiting roughly $14.5 million to avoid risking a long-term injury before hitting the open market — a decision that reshaped how running backs in particular view the tag, since the position's salaries have historically lagged the value top backs provide. Other players have grudgingly signed and played out a tag year while publicly criticizing a system that, in their view, suppresses what a true negotiation would pay.
The counterargument: the tag guarantees money a player might not get from an injury-shortened open-market year, and it's a known, collectively bargained tradeoff the NFLPA agreed to as part of the CBA. Still, the "is it fair" debate resurfaces every offseason a star gets tagged instead of paid.
Recent Franchise Tag Values by Position
These are the confirmed 2026 non-exclusive franchise tag and transition tag numbers, set after the league's 2026 salary cap was finalized at $301.2 million.
| Position | 2026 Franchise Tag | 2026 Transition Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | $43,895,000 | $37,833,000 |
| Wide Receiver | $27,298,000 | $23,852,000 |
| Defensive Tackle | $27,127,000 | $22,521,000 |
| Linebacker | $26,865,000 | $21,925,000 |
| Offensive Line | $25,773,000 | $23,392,000 |
| Defensive End | $24,434,000 | $21,512,000 |
| Cornerback | $21,161,000 | $18,119,000 |
| Safety | $20,149,000 | $16,012,000 |
| Tight End | $15,045,000 | $12,687,000 |
| Running Back | $14,293,000 | $11,323,000 |
| Kicker/Punter | $6,649,000 | $6,005,000 |
Sources: Spotrac – Franchise Tag Values, NBC Sports – 2026 Franchise Tag Values
Real 2026 examples: the Dallas Cowboys used the non-exclusive tag on wide receiver George Pickens ($27.298M); the Atlanta Falcons used it on tight end Kyle Pitts ($15.045M); the New York Jets used it on running back Breece Hall ($14.293M); and the Indianapolis Colts used the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones ($37.833M) rather than the pricier exclusive tag.
FAQ
What is the franchise tag in simple terms? It's a one-year, fully guaranteed contract a team can apply to one of its own impending free agents instead of letting him hit the open market, at a salary set by a CBA formula tied to top salaries at his position.
What's the difference between the exclusive and non-exclusive tag? The exclusive tag bars the player from negotiating with any other team and is priced off current-year top salaries at the position; the non-exclusive tag lets him theoretically sign an offer sheet elsewhere (though few teams ever risk the two first-round picks it costs to sign him away) and is priced off a five-year trailing average.
Can a team use both a franchise tag and a transition tag in the same year? No. Each team gets one tag per year, and it has to choose between a franchise tag (exclusive or non-exclusive) or a transition tag — not both.
How much does it cost to tag the same player a second or third time? A second consecutive tag costs 120% of the player's prior tag salary. A third costs the greatest of the quarterback tag amount, 120% of the position's top-five average, or 144% of his second tag salary — a jump steep enough that third tags are essentially never used.
Does the franchise tag salary count fully against the salary cap? Yes. The full tag salary hits the team's cap for that season, which is one reason tagging a premium-position player (especially a quarterback) can eat up a large share of total cap space. For more on how that space works, see our explainer on the NFL salary cap.
When do tagged players have to sign a long-term deal? Teams and tagged players can negotiate a multi-year extension up until July 15 (slightly later for transition-tagged players). After that date, the player can only play that season on the one-year tag salary, with long-term talks paused until the season ends.
What happens if a tagged player refuses to sign his tender? He can hold out, but he forfeits his tag salary for every game he doesn't play, and if he still hasn't signed by the Tuesday following Week 10, he's ineligible to play in the league that season at all — the path Le'Veon Bell chose in 2018.
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