NFL franchise tag winners and losers: Tee Higgins, Sam Darnold in murky waters
“Tag.”
The one-word post on X was tantamount to Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins admitting defeat Monday for the second straight offseason in the contractual NFL game so many pending free agents hate to play. Higgins will again be enriched, at minimum, but not for as much or as long as he’d like.
But at least for (almost) everyone else, it’s game over.
Tuesday afternoon served as the NFL’s final concrete deadline ahead of its new league year – which begins concurrently with the official start of free agency on March 12 – 4 p.m. ET today the point by which each team had its last chance to apply the franchise or transition tag in a bid to retain (or maybe subsequently trade) one of its pending free agents.
Only Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs G Trey Smith were tagged this year after eight players were franchised in 2024. Both received the non-exclusive tender – meaning they are actually eligible to negotiate with other clubs yet also have until July 15 to sign an extension with their present employers in order to avoid the risk and uncertainty of playing on the one-year tag. In reality, it’s extremely rare for franchised players to move (barring a negotiated trade settlement) given it costs an outside team both contractually and a compensation package of two first-round draft picks to pry a player loose if his original team is unwilling to match an offer sheet.
With those parameters in mind, here are the winners and losers of the 2025 franchise tag deadline:
FREE AGENCY: Top 25* players available after franchise tag deadline passes
WINNERS
NFL players
In general, they hate tags. Sure, they’re lucrative windfalls, but they also tend to prevent stars (sometimes quasi-stars) from finding the top of their markets or realizing the security of a long-term arrangement. Most of this year’s free agents will be, well, free to pursue precisely those aims.
Only two players — Tee Higgins and Trey Smith — were tagged this year, the fewest number of players tagged since 1994, when Eric Green and Henry Thomas were tagged, per @EpKap.
There were eight players given the franchise tag last year and there have been at least six players…— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2025
Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase
Higgins’ tag means the Bengals’ deadly three-man offensive band will presumably remain intact for 2025 – much to the delight of its quarterback, Burrow, who’s been openly campaigning for that outcome. And with Higgins now effectively tied down, Chase – demonstrably the league’s top receiver in 2024 – can dig in on his own negotiations now that Cincinnati’s director of player personnel, Duke Tobin, publicly vowed at the scouting combine to make Chase “the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league. We're there. Let's get it done."
Free agent wideouts
Higgins’ tag also could mean a more favorable financial landscape for the likes of unsigned veteran pass catchers such as Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins. Higgins, 26, clearly would have been the cream of this crop had he been able to reach unfettered free agency. But since he won’t – and in a year when the draft-eligible wideouts aren’t all that impressive (is it even Travis Hunter’s primary position?) – the graybeards could see a little more action and maybe a few extra greenbacks.
Trey Smith
He doubtless would have also preferred the immediate comfort of a multi-year pact. But for a 2021 sixth-rounder whose annual salary has averaged roughly $900,000 over his first four seasons, a fully guaranteed $23.4 million lottery – left tackle money – for 2025 is a pretty nice reward. And still a decent chance the Chiefs get Smith locked up ahead of July’s deadline.
Dallas Cowboys
After infamously sitting out free agency in 2024 and waiting until the last minute to grant extensions to WR CeeDee Lamb and QB Dak Prescott that were at or near the apex of their respective positional pay scales, “America’s Team” got a four-year, $80 million deal (with $58 million guaranteed, per reports) done with DT Osa Odighizuwa on Tuesday rather than franchising him for more than $25 million. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? (That was not a Jerry Jones reference. Maybe.) And spreading out Odighizuwa’s payday should also help grease the skids for a well-deserved extension for LB Micah Parsons. Lamb's agreement to restructure his deal Tuesday – that freed up another $20 million for 2025 – provides his team further flexibility.
Alaric Jackson
In tandem with QB Matthew Stafford’s successful renegotiation last week, Jackson, the Los Angeles Rams’ left tackle the past two seasons, inked a three-year, $57 million extension rather than face the possibility of a tag. He might have gotten a bit more if released to the market, but this seems like a sensible compromise for both sides.
Sam Darnold?
He was set free, the Minnesota Vikings allowing their 2024 Pro Bowl quarterback to fully assess his value rather than mess around with a $40.2 million tag or the notion that there was sufficient upside to go the tag-and-trade route with the 27-year-old passer. Darnold is now free to pursue something perhaps on the order of the three-year, $100 million bump Baker Mayfield, his 2018 draftmate, landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year.
LOSERS
Sam Darnold?
But it doesn’t appear Darnold can have his mead with the Vikes and drink it, too. Though the door appears open for at least a temporary return to Minnesota, which kickstarted his career in Year 7, it would be at the club's price point and with the ubiquitous shadow of 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, who missed his rookie year with a knee injury. Yet if Darnold feels compelled to cash in – and no guarantee this opportunity arises again – hard to believe the ride will be as smooth in a place like Las Vegas or Cleveland or maybe Tennessee in 2025.
Aaron Rodgers
With Darnold seemingly in the wind, the four-time league MVP and soon-to-be-ex-New-York-Jets quarterback may have to wait a minute before he breezes into his next NFL destination … assuming there is one.
Tee Higgins
Consecutive tags mean he gets a 20% raise in 2025 to $26.2 million – ranking Chase's understudy at 10th league-wide among receivers in terms of average salary this year. But Higgins, who’s only played a full season twice in his five-year career, is something of a poster boy for players fearful of the tag – and how an untimely injury could preclude ever getting that nine-figure extension. The Bengals announced Monday that they’re moving forward with Higgins “with the intent of continuing to work toward a long-term deal in Cincinnati.” But given he’ll almost certainly have to wait for Chase’s ship to come in and maybe even All-Pro DE Trey Hendrickson's …
Alex Cappa and Sheldon Rankins
Both are now former Bengals, their recent releases helping Cincinnati to clear nearly $18 million in cap room as Tobin tries to amass the necessary funds to mollify his stars.
NFL players?
As generally liberating as matters transpired at this year’s deadline, the fact that only Higgins and Smith were tagged is a strong indication of how clubs feel about the 2025 free agent class. At a time when the salary cap has ballooned to a record $279.2 million per team, it wouldn’t be completely unjustifiable for owners to be a bit tight-fisted in the coming weeks – which is exactly what they want to be.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL franchise tag winners, losers: Sam Darnold, Tee Higgins in limbo
