The NFL's franchise tag option was created in 1993 as part of the original collective bargaining agreement, and in the 32 seasons that followed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made use of it just eight times, or an average of once every four years. However, the Buccaneers have been far more willing to give out franchise tags in recent seasons; four of those eight instances have come since the 2020 offseason.
If Tampa Bay's brass is considering getting into the tag business again in 2025, they will be able to do so as soon as Tuesday. That's when the NFL's window for teams to place franchise tags on players opens; it closes on Tuesday, March 4. The league's free agency period begins on Wednesday March 12.
All of the players who received franchise tags from the Buccaneers since 2020 ended up staying with the team beyond that season. The Bucs used a tag on outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett in 2020 after he had led the NFL with a franchise-record 19.5 sacks in 2019. Barrett played the 2020 season the tag, then signed a multi-year contract to remain with the Buccaneers in 2021.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin then got the tag in both 2021 and 2022; he signed the tag shortly after receiving it in 2021 but he and the team reached agreement on a long-term deal a week after the tag was applied in 2022. Just last year, Tampa Bay and All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. were able to work out a new four-year deal in May, a little over two months after the franchise tag gave the two sides more time to negotiate without Winfield hitting the open market.
As those three cases demonstrate, the franchise tag can be a valuable tool to extend the exclusive negotiating period with an important player who is a pending unrestricted free agent. The Buccaneers have 22 players in that category this year. Godwin is in that group once again, as are linebacker Lavonte David, guard Ben Bredeson, center Robert Hainsey and outside linebackers Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
There are three types of tags available for use by teams, but only one can be used in any given year. The transition tag, which is used relatively rarely, allows players the ability to negotiate with other teams but gives their original club a chance to match any offer they receive. The one-year salary that comes with the tag, if signed, is either 120% of the player's previous salary or the average of the top 10 cap hits at his position over the previous five years, whichever is higher.
There are two types of franchise tags, exclusive and non-exclusive. The exclusive variety prevents a player from negotiating with other teams but carries a higher price tag. The non-exclusive variety allows the player to talk to other teams, with the original team having the opportunity to match any offers. Exclusive tags pay 120% of the previous salary or the average of the five top cap hits at the position in the previous year. Non-exclusive tags pay 120% of the previous salary or the average of the five cap hits of the last five seasons.
When players receive the franchise tag in multiple seasons, the cost goes up even more steeply. For this reason, it is not likely that Godwin will be tagged a third time, given that it would involved a 144% raise.
As noted, the Bucs have used a franchise tag eight times since it became an option in 1993. That year they placed a tag on standout left tackle Paul Gruber, who responded with a five-game holdout but eventually signed a new long-term deal with the team. The Bucs also used the tag in 1999 on defensive end Chidi Ahanotu, in 2009 on wide receiver Antonio Bryant and in 2012 on kicker Connor Barth.
