Deadline Looms Today For NFL’s “Franchise Four”
Today won’t have a feeling of finality for the NFL’s four remaining unsigned, franchise-tagged players.
But if the deadline to sign a long-term deal comes and goes without agreements for Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, Dallas Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin and Baltimore Ravens end/linebacker Terrell Suggs, negotiations should simplify.
Once the 4 p.m. ET deadline passes, franchised players only can sign one-year deals, although they don’t necessarily have to be the tender offers extended when the tags were applied. Sweeteners can be added — that’s what happened with linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Asante Samuel after the deadline last year.
Briggs signed his one-year, $7.206 million tender with the Bears just before training camp last year, after receiving a written promise that he would not receive the franchise tag again in 2008 if he played in 75 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Samuel missed all of the Patriots’ training camp and signed his $7.79 million tender just 13 days before the season opener, after receiving assurances he would not be tagged again if he played in 60 percent of the defensive snaps or if the club won 12 games.
Both Briggs and Samuel hit their markers and were unrestricted free agents this offseason. Samuel signed a six-year, $57 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Briggs re-signed with the Bears for $36 million over six years.
Talks between the Titans and Haynesworth had been quiet of late, but the team and agent Chad Speck spoke through the weekend and plan to negotiate right up to the deadline. As was the case with Briggs and Samuel, Haynesworth likely will demand the promise of not being tagged a second time before signing his $7.25 million tender. The Titans have been open, but lukewarm, to the idea of yielding such leverage.
Likewise, the Cowboys and Hamlin’s agent, Kennard McGuire, have negotiated over the last few days without yet coming to an agreement.
Asomugha’s situation is a bit different from Hamlin’s or Haynesworth’s, in that Asomugha was assigned the “exclusive” tender, worth $9.765 million, which kept him from speaking with other teams earlier in the offseason and ensures a bigger payday if he does accept the qualifying offer. Dwight Freeney was slapped with the exclusive tag in 2007, before agreeing to a six-year, $72 million deal with the Colts.
It’s unlikely that a deal between Asomugha and the Raiders will be consummated by Tuesday afternoon’s deadline. Asomugha — considered by many to be the NFL’s second-best cornerback, behind only Champ Bailey of the Broncos — then would work to cash in on the free-agent market in ‘09. That would mean getting a no-tag clause similar to what Samuel and Briggs received last year, and the Raiders have been reluctant to grant that.
Suggs is a different case. He has agreed to sign the $8 million tender with Ravens after a battle over its value, splitting the difference between the defensive end and linebacker figures. However, Suggs has not signed the tender, in hopes of working out a long-term deal before the deadline.
In all four cases, the deadline should create a sense of urgency, although deals made in the past several months make potential agreements pricy propositions for the teams concerned.
Earlier in the offseason, Oakland signed defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (seven years, $50.5 million), cornerback DeAngelo Hall (seven years, $70 million) and safety Gibril Wilson (six years, $39 million) to deals largely perceived to be well above market value at positions that Haynesworth, Asomugha and Hamlin, respectively, play.
Even without considering the four unsigned players, the upward arc of salaries has had a profound impact on the market for franchise players.
This year, 11 players were tagged, up from seven in 2007, because teams saw the salary hikes coming and had room to shoehorn in the large, single-season money with the cap going up to $116 million. In 2006, with the cap still at $102 million, only three players were franchised.
Of the seven players tagged last year, three reached long-term agreements with their original teams, while the other four were re-signed in one form or another. This year, only one of the 11, Marcus Trufant, has completed a multiyear deal with his original club to this point. And two of the other franchise-tagged players — Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Browns defensive lineman Corey Williams — have been traded this offseason.
Status of players tagged in 2008:
- Chiefs DE Jared Allen: Traded to Minnesota, where he signed a six-year, $73.3 million deal.
- Bengals OL Stacy Andrews: Signed $7.455 million tender with Bengals.
- Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha: Unsigned.
- Cardinals LB Karlos Dansby: Signed $8.065 million tender with Cardinals.
- Panthers OT Jordan Gross: Signed $7.455 million tender with Panthers.
- Cowboys S Ken Hamlin: Unsigned.
- Titans DT Albert Haynesworth: Unsigned.
- Eagles TE L.J. Smith: Signed $4.522 million tender with Eagles.
- Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs: Agreed to sign the $8 million tender with Ravens but has not signed it.
- Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant: Signed a six-year, $50.2 million deal with the Seahawks.
- Packers DT Corey Williams: Traded to Cleveland, where he signed a six-year, $38 million deal.
- Albert Breer, Sporting News
