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5, 2003) -- On Feb. 20, NFL teams have to declare if any of their potential free agents are going to be "tagged" and their rights retained. Otherwise, those clubs can potentially let their star player experience free agency and sign somewhere else. A franchise tag would mean at least first-round compensation if another team attempts to sign that player, and a transition tag gives the home team the right to match any other club's offer.
Most teams don't fool around with the transition tag any more because the original club is stuck with a contract another team wrote -- and that can be ugly. The franchise tag is more expensive, but a lot cleaner.
The franchise tag is the average of the five highest-paid players at the position, and the transition tag is the average of the 10 highest-paid players at the position. On Feb. 28, if a club designates a player "tagged," the team's salary cap is charged the value of the tag. In some cases, the difference between the franchise price and the transition price is so minimal, it just makes sense to use the higher number.
