The NFL franchise tag is a one-year, fully guaranteed contract a team can force onto one pending free agent per offseason – priced by position, designed to keep stars off the market, and resented by nearly every player who receives it. In 2026 the quarterback tag costs $43.895 million and the running back tag just $14.293 million, which tells you most of what you need to know about how the league values positions.
Four players got tagged this year during the February 17 to March 3 window: George Pickens (Cowboys), Kyle Pitts (Falcons), Breece Hall (Jets), and Daniel Jones (Colts, via the cheaper transition tag). Three of them converted the tag into multi-year extensions before the July 15 deadline; Pickens will play 2026 on the $27.3 million tender – the tag working exactly as designed, as leverage that sometimes becomes the deal itself.
The chart below covers the three tag types, every 2026 position value, and this year’s full tag calendar. Take a look, then we’ll get into why the tag exists and why players hate it.
NFL CONTRACTS 2026
How the NFL Franchise Tag Works
Three tag types, the 2026 values, and the class that made July 15 quiet
QB TAG 2026
$43.9M
Top of the scale
TAGGED IN 2026
4
Pickens, Pitts, Hall, Jones
EXTENSION DEADLINE
Jul 15
Then one-year tender only
OFFER-SHEET COMP
Two 1sts
Non-exclusive tag
The three tags
How each version is priced and what it allows
| Tag type |
How it works |
| Non-exclusive franchise (standard) |
Pays the greater of: average of the top-5 salaries at the position over the past five years (as a cap percentage), or 120% of the player’s prior salary. Player can negotiate offer sheets elsewhere; his club can match or collect two first-round picks |
| Exclusive franchise |
Priced off the top-5 salaries at the position in the current year – typically higher – and the player cannot negotiate with other teams at all. Rarely used |
| Transition |
Average of the top-10 position salaries. Club gets right of first refusal only – no draft-pick compensation if it declines to match an offer sheet |
| Limits |
One tag (franchise or transition) per team per year. Tagging the same player a second straight year costs 120% of his prior tag |
2026 tag values by position
Official league figures under the $301.2 million cap
| Position |
Franchise tag |
Transition tag |
| Quarterback |
$43.895M |
$37.833M |
| Wide receiver |
$27.298M |
$23.852M |
| Defensive tackle |
$27.127M |
$22.521M |
| Linebacker |
$26.865M |
$21.925M |
| Offensive line |
$25.773M |
$23.392M |
| Defensive end |
$24.434M |
$21.512M |
| Cornerback |
$21.161M |
$18.119M |
| Safety |
$20.149M |
$16.012M |
| Tight end |
$15.045M |
$12.687M |
| Running back |
$14.293M |
$11.323M |
| Kicker/Punter |
$6.649M |
$6.005M |
The 2026 tag class and calendar
Four tags, three extensions, one deadline that passed quietly
| Item |
Detail |
| Designation window |
Feb. 17 to March 3, 4 PM ET – one tag per team |
| George Pickens, WR, Cowboys |
Non-exclusive tag Feb. 27; the only 2026 tagged player still on the one-year tender ($27.298M) |
| Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons |
Tagged Feb. 24, then signed a three-year, $54M extension |
| Breece Hall, RB, Jets |
Tagged March 3, then signed a three-year, $43.5M extension |
| Daniel Jones, QB, Colts |
Transition-tagged at $37.833M, then signed a two-year, $88M extension |
| July 15 |
Deadline for tagged players to sign multi-year extensions; after it, only one-year terms allowed |
| Mid-November |
Deadline for a tagged player to sign his tender (Tuesday after Week 10) or sit out the season |
FRANCHISE TAG FACTS
The tender is fully guaranteed
The moment a player signs his tag, the full amount is guaranteed – the reason some tagged stars skip camp but always sign before the season.
Two first-rounders means never
No team has surrendered two first-round picks for a non-exclusive tagged player since the CBA modernized – the compensation is priced to kill offer sheets.
The RB tag is the market’s verdict
At $14.293M, the running back tag costs less than a third of the QB number – the position’s entire leverage problem in one figure.
Leverage, By Design
The tag survives every CBA negotiation because it’s the owners’ favorite clause: it converts a star’s one genuine career moment of leverage – unrestricted free agency – into a team option. For the player, a fully guaranteed year sounds fine until you price the risk: one injury on a one-year deal can erase a nine-figure market, which is why tagged players push so hard for extensions before July 15 and why the running back tag, cheap enough to use repeatedly, has become the position’s cage. For teams, the tag is also trade machinery – tag-and-trade moves let clubs extract value for a player they couldn’t afford to extend. Three of this year’s four tags turning into extensions is the typical pattern: the tag isn’t usually the contract; it’s the deadline that produces one.
The Bottom Line
The franchise tag is a one-year, position-priced, fully guaranteed tender – $43.9 million for QBs down to $14.3 million for running backs in 2026 – applied between February 17 and March 3, with extensions allowed until July 15 and two first-round picks owed to any team whose non-exclusive tagged player signs elsewhere unmatched. It’s the strongest team-control tool in the sport this side of the rookie wage scale. For the service-time math that gets a player to free agency in the first place, see accrued seasons and vested veteran status.
