Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs used the franchise tag on linebacker Justin Houston. They were then able to reach a long-term contract extension with him prior to the start of training camp in mid-July.
This year, the franchise tag window opens up on Tuesday, February 16, and lasts for two weeks, ending on Tuesday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m. CT. That's the last day teams can place any one of the three franchise tag designations on any one player.
Year
Player
Position
Result
2015
Justin Houston
LB
Signed long term extension before the season
2013
Branden Albert
OT
Played 2013 season on franchise tag
2012
Dwayne Bowe
WR
Signed long term extension before 2013 season
2011
Tamba Hali
LB
Signed long term deal before 2011 season
2008
Jared Allen
DE
Traded to Vikings before 2008 NFL Draft
2002
Tony Gonzalez
TE
Signed long term deal during 2002 season
2000
Will Shields
OG
Played 2000 season under tag, signed long term deal in 2001
1998
Dan Williams
DE
Sat out entire 1998 season, signed extension in 1999
1993
Neil Smith
DE
Signed new deal after preseason
Only one player per team per season can receive a franchise designation.
Those designations are broken down into three separate types: exclusive, non-exclusive and transition.
Once signed, the exclusive tag means the player will receive an average of the top five salaries at the player's current position or 120 percent of the player's current salary—whichever is higher.
That player cannot negotiate with other teams under this exclusive designation.
For all three of these designations, the salary is guaranteed once the player has signed his tender and can only be voided if the player fails to establish or maintain excellent physical condition, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The non-exclusive tag means that player is free to negotiate with other NFL teams through the tag deadline of July 15. If the player receives an offer from another team, the team who placed the non-exclusive tag on him has the right to match that other offer. If they decline to do so, the new team can sign the player but will have to forfeit two first-round picks to the original team as compensation.
A look into the Kansas City Chiefs franchise tag players
2015: LB Justin Houston
2015: LB Justin Houston
2013: OT Branden Albert
2013: OT Branden Albert
2012: WR Dwayne Bowe
2012: WR Dwayne Bowe
2011: LB Tamba Hali
2011: LB Tamba Hali
2008: DE Jared Allen
2008: DE Jared Allen
2002: TE Tony Gonzalez
2002: TE Tony Gonzalez
2000: OG Will Shields
2000: OG Will Shields
1998: DE Dan Williams
1998: DE Dan Williams
1993: DE Neil Smith
1993: DE Neil Smith
If the player doesn't receive any other offers under the non-exclusive tag, once they sign the tender, they receive an average of the past five years' top five salaries at that position, but that also takes into account the new salary cap for that year among other factors.
The non-exclusive tag is used more often because of the two first-round picks as compensation combined with the salary being lower than the exclusive tag.
The transition tag works in a similar way as the non-exclusive tag. The player is free to negotiate with other teams, but once an offer is made, if the original team decides not to match the offer, they are awarded no compensation in terms of draft picks.
The reason a team would even consider using the transition tag is that it comes with the lowest one-year salary of the three options and averages out the top 10 salaries at that specific position rather than top five.
But the lack of compensation awarded combined with the differences in salaries between non-exclusive and transition tags not being that substantial makes it the least often used of the tags.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, the chart below lists all of the free agents who could be candidates for any of these tags this offseason.
Again, the window for teams to designate their exclusive, non-exclusive or transition tag player for the 2016 season begins on Tuesday, February 16 and runs through Tuesday, March 1 (3:00 p.m. CST).
PLAYER
TYPE
POSITION
2015 SEASON (STATSPASS.COM)
Eric Berry
UFA
S
16 games, 15 starts, 61 tackles,
2 INTS, 10 passes defensed
[Derrick Johnson
UFA
ILB
16 games, 16 starts, 116 tackles,
2 INTs, 4 sacks, 2 FFs, 8 TFL
Sean Smith
UFA
CB
13 games, 13 starts, 45 tackles,
2 INTs, 12 passes defensed
Chase Daniel
UFA
QB
2 games, 2-2 for 4 yards
Tyvon Branch
UFA
S
16 games played, 40 tackles,
1 INT-TD, 1 FR
Mike DeVito
UFA
DE
13 games played, 19 tackles, 3 sacks
Jeff Allen
UFA
OL
12 games, 8 starts,
2 penalties on 429 snaps, 0 sacks allowed
Husain Abdullah
UFA
S
11 games, 4 starts, 27 tackles
Jason Avant
UFA
WR
16 games, 15 receptions for 119 yards
[Frank Zombo
UFA
OLB
16 games, 2 starts, 10 tackles,
3 sacks, 5 QBH
Donald Stephenson
UFA
OL
16 games, 7 starts, 4 penalties,
2 sacks allowed
Jaye Howard
UFA
DT
16 games, 13 starts, 57 tackles,
5.5 sacks, 9 QBH, 11 TFL
Jamell Fleming
UFA
CB
16 games, 13 tackles,
5 passes defensed, 1 FR
Dezman Moses
UFA
OLB
13 games, 1 tackle,
1 QBH, 1 FF
[Charcandrick West
ERFA
RB
15 games, 9 starts,
160 carries for 634 yards & 4 TDs
[Daniel Sorensen
ERFA
S
16 games, 16 tackles, 1 sack,
2 passes defensed and 2 QBH
Nick Williams
ERFA
DT
14 games, 9 tackles
David King
ERFA
DE
1 game
