Kirk Cousins fundamentally changed tag calculus
- Published
The NFL’s deadline to reach a long-term extension with players on the franchise tag passed Monday and for once, Redskins fans were not frantically checking their phones.
Over a two-year span, the “will they-or-won’t-they nature” of the Kirk Cousins-Redskins drama consumed talk radio, social media and much of the NFL. Of course, the Redskins and Cousins did not agree to a contract, setting up his eventual departure for the Minnesota Vikings.
But while the Cousins saga is now over, the Redskins and their former quarterback might have changed how teams and players view the franchise tag. Ultimately, Cousins made significantly more amount of money by being tagged twice before parlaying that into free agency.
In the past, NFL players loathed getting tagged.
“Typically, players don’t want to get franchised,” said former agent Joel Corry. “They don’t embrace because they want the illusion of long-term security in a contract. ... But now you see a guy like (Cowboys defensive end) DeMarcus Lawrence say the franchise tag is an opportunity for him to break the bank in 2019.”
Lawrence was one of four players on the tag eligible for a multi-year extension, but none of them reached an agreement with their teams.
Instead, Lawrence, who had 14 sacks last season, is more than comfortable making $17 million in 2018 and going into the 2019 season with, perhaps, more leverage. Barring a significant injury or a subpar year, Lawrence is likely to be offered a better long-term deal or, like Cousins, be tagged a second-straight year. For Lawrence, that would mean a projected $20.5 million.
Washington could have used a third-straight tag worth $34.5 million to keep Cousins for 2018, but traded instead for Alex Smith in January.
“The Kirk Cousins situation with the Redskins kind of confirms it: It’s often cheaper to pay the player sooner rather than later,” said salary cap expert J.I. Halsell, who spent two years as a cap analyst for the Redskins from 2007-08. “Especially when you consider the increase in salary cap and the value of the franchise tag being tied to that increase. The franchise tag is only going to get more and more expensive.”
Look at Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, for instance. He signed a five-year, $110 million extension in 2013 that made him, at the time, the league’s highest-paid player.
Today, his salary ranks 10th among quarterbacks a bargain for the Packers.
Cousins went into his contract negotiations with all the leverage and it shows in the deal he signed.
Not only is he guaranteed three-years, he will next hit free agency at 32 still in his prime as an NFL quarterback. That puts him in line for at least one more big payday.
Halsell said he could see more of those shorter-term, larger guarantee contracts be offered out in the future, as long as the player has leverage.
Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell, for example, could become a free agent next offseason since it’s very likely that the Steelers won’t use the franchise tag a third-year in a row.
By then, Bell will be 27 and have earned $26 million over the last two years.
Bell, like Cousins, could end up benefitting from the tag.
“If I can get a good guarantee and still have another opportunity to get a bite of the apple, in lieu of teams controlling my rights, and if you figure out how much money would I have earned over a five-year span by getting two deals instead of just one, you’re going to end up making more money in two deals,” Halsell said.