By Mark Puleo and Mike Jones The Athletic
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Every NFL offseason, star players from around the league have their names thrown around in contract conversations they can’t necessarily control. Such is negotiation life up against the franchise tag.

A franchise tag is a one-year contract that every NFL team is allowed to issue once per offseason. It allows a franchise to strategically retain a player on a guaranteed deal with a non-negotiated salary. It can only be used on players set to become unrestricted free agents.

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The franchise tag is completely unique to the NFL and means different things to different players. In some senses, it’s a validation of a player’s standing in the top tier of their position. But for most, the tag is a frustrating hurdle in the efforts to secure long-term security.

With the 2025 season franchise tag deadline opening on Feb. 18, here’s everything you need to know about the contract stipulation:

Notable tag candidates

While the franchise tag is available to all 32 teams to use as a way to ensure that they don’t lose their top free agent on the open market, it seems unlikely that we’ll see a lot of action on this front across the NFL this offseason.

Of all of the impending free agents, five players seem like potential franchise tag candidates, but even those five are not locks to receive this designation because the salaries that the tag would translate into could prove too rich for their teams.

Here’s a look at the five leading possibilities and why they may or may not receive the tag.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins — The 26-year-old Higgins received the tag last offseason, so a second straight franchise tag would translate into a jump from roughly $21 million to $26 million in 2025. The Bengals also need to work out a long-term extension for No. 1 wideout Ja’Marr Chase, and that deal would likely call for an annual salary of roughly $36 million, which would make him the richest player at his position. So, although $26 million for Higgins is a pretty penny, it’s far more affordable and enables the Bengals to focus their energies on a Chase deal while delaying a decision on Higgins, who last season had 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns despite being limited by injury to just 12 games.

Minnesota Vikings Sam Darnold — The Vikings signed the 2018 third overall pick last season to a one-year, $10 million deal, thinking he could serve at most as a bridge to eventual first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, or at the very least, an insurance policy for the rookie. McCarthy wound up suffering a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, and Darnold blossomed under Kevin O’Connell’s tutelage, helping the Vikings enjoy their most successful season in decades. Now, the Vikings might be inclined to use the tag to retain his services for one more season in case McCarthy isn’t fully recovered by the start of the season. A one-year deal worth around $40 million sounds like a lot, but Darnold likely would have his suitors on the open market, so tagging Darnold because of the unknowns about McCarthy’s health and development makes sense.

Kansas City Chiefs RG Trey Smith — The fifth-year veteran just earned his first Pro Bowl selection and is a valuable piece to the puzzle along a Chiefs line that also has talented center Creed Humphrey but needs upgrading at other spots, as the Philadelphia Eagles exposed in the Super Bowl. However, the franchise tag would mean committing $25 million, which would prove challenging for the Chiefs, who have numerous needs but limited cap space. Kansas City might have to pass on tagging Smith.

Miami Dolphins S Jevon Holland — The fifth-year pro has talent, and the Dolphins would like to keep him. But committing roughly $19 million for a player who made $3.3 million last season and hasn’t even reached the Pro Bowl yet seems too rich for Miami’s taste.

Philadelphia Eagles MLB Zack Baun — Baun shined in his first season with the Eagles. He anchored the defense that totally dismantled the Chiefs in the defense and earned first-team All-Pro honors after recording 151 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery (all career highs). However, the franchise tag isn’t normally Howie Roseman’s style, and the tag would mean a $27 million salary for one season, which seems unlikely. — Mike Jones, national NFL writer

Can players refuse a tag?

The franchise tag has long been viewed as a favorable stipulation for team builders, as it minimizes long-term risk. If the player gets injured or their performance falters while playing on a tag, the team can let them walk or re-sign them at a lower rate the next offseason.

Some players have fought back against the tag by holding out during training camp and even extending that into the season in some cases.

In 2018, Le’Veon Bell sat out the entire season after getting tagged by Pittsburgh. He got a four-year deal with the New York Jets the next offseason. Davante Adams threatened to pull a similar boycott when he was tagged in 2022, leading the Green Bay Packers to subsequently trade him to the Las Vegas Raiders, where he received a five-year deal.

The first player to refuse a franchise tag was Sean Gilbert, who sat out the 1997 season when Washington placed the tag on him after his breakout Pro Bowl season. Washington placed the non-exclusive tag on him in 1998, then the Carolina Panthers offered Gilbert a lucrative offer sheet. Washington let Gilbert move on to Carolina rather than match, and received two first-round picks in exchange.

Players have also tried to file grievances in conjunction with the NFL Players Association to dispute franchise tag designations. In 2012, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees filed a grievance arguing that the 2011 CBA did not specify whether the three tag limit was applied across multiple teams. Brees, who was tagged by the Saints that offseason, had previously been tagged by the San Diego Chargers in 2005. An arbitrator ruled in Brees’ favor, establishing a precedent that franchise tag designations apply across teams.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.