Kansas City Chiefs: Franchise Tag Options Loom Large
By Ben Almquist
One financial tactic that the Kansas City Chiefs have gotten use out of in recent years is the Franchise Tag. Could it be used again in 2017?
The Kansas City Chiefs have two major contracts to work on in the 2017 offseason. Safety Eric Berry and defensive tackle Dontari Poe are both set to get big deals this year. However, the Chiefs are not working with a lot of room in the salary cap. That means a deal may be tough for either player. When that happens in the NFL, many teams resort to the use of the Franchise Tag.
The NFL Franchise Tag is a tool that is hated by both players and General Managers. Players hate it because there is no financial security involved for the long term. GMs hate it because it’s a major hit on their salary cap without any kind of future investment return. It is the ultimate necessary evil in NFL contract negotiations.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, this is a tool that has been used probably more than the team would have liked. Since coming to Kansas City, John Dorsey has used the Franchise Tag in three of his four years as GM. The Chiefs have used the tag in 2013 on Branden Albert, 2015 on Justin Houston, and in 2016 on Eric Berry. The results have been mixed.
At event EB said missing Pro Bowl due to a family situation & is hoping to play for #Chiefs next year. His agent talked w/ team yesterday
— Andrew Carter (@LetItFlyAndrew) January 25, 2017
Branden Albert played one year on the Franchise Tag and then left the following year in Free Agency to the Miami Dolphins. However, Justin Houston would sign a contract with the Chiefs just four months after getting his Franchise Tag in 2015. As for Eric Berry…well, that’s really the question, isn’t it? Will the Chiefs re-sign Eric Berry this year? Will they re-sign Dontari Poe? Or will they use the Franchise Tag on one or the other?