The name implies something good — “franchise player.”
And though the application of it comes with several million dollars in guaranteed pay for four months of work, plenty of players view it as an insult.
In one of our new PFTV segments, we explore the device that allows teams to squat on one unrestricted free agent per year.
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That “four months of work” argument is always silly. Skill position players spend a great deal of time/money to stay good. Not all do (Jamarcus) but as in any profession, those that want to be the best will constantly seek to improve.
And to this point (“plenty of players view it as an insult”): Nobody said players in the NFL were smart.
love the intro. Joe is GREAT.
Of course everyone wants 30 million over 7 but still I have to disagree with your comments Florio, 7 million should be enough for a player to last his lifetime regardless of taxes, agent fees, etc. And dont give me the “lifestyle” as a reason it wont. Thats just bull. 7 Million is more than most people make in their lifetime, much more, much much more.
I understand why players want the “big pay day” that comes from real free agency where they get a $20-30 million signing bonus. But to make the argument that this will set them up for life, while $7 million for one year can’t do the same thing is just wrong. If a player is tagged, and for example makes $7 million for one year, and makes not one more cent in football, they can still be set for life. Most players play after they are tagged for one year (I am not aware off the top of my head of any players who were done after being tagged due to injury.) and have more money coming in after their tagged year. But, assume they “only” make the $7 million and assume total taxes and agent fees totaled 60% of this amount, then the player would be left with $2.8 million.
If that player took the $2.8 million and invested the money in tax free municipal bonds paying 4%, the player would collect over $100,000 for the rest of his life and still have the $2.8 million. A large percentage of these guys at least have some college credits. If they have their degrees they can get a “job” and make another $30-50K per year easy.
If these guys can’t live on $150K a year for the rest of their lives in semi-retirement then they are spending too much. You can’t buy too many $300K cars every year and expect to keep up that sort of lifestyle unless you play in the NBA.
I don’t feel sorry for any player who is tagged. They should view it as winning the one year lottery, with a very large payday on the horizon, if they don’t get hurt and continue to play well.