What use is the franchise tag?

[Patriot Missile]

Absolutley none. If a player doesn't want to be franchised, evidently he doesn't have to play. Simple as that. Why even bother franchising someone anymore?

As far as I'm concerned the Players Union agreed to the franchise tag or else it wouldn't be allowed in the NFL. It's too bad stiffer penalties weren't set as far as fines. Maybe if the owners could collect the money not paid which they already do plus +services not rendered some of these players may opt to come into camp. Maybe even a one year suspension would be fine with me.

I try to see it from a players perspective but I can't. 7 million is alot to the average Joe like me.

 

[Kdo5]

Because he does not become an FA and we can trade him.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I don't think that was how it was supposed to be originally intended.

 

[Murphys95]

The repurcussions of the franchise tag have long been known (since the Sean Gilbert holdout in '97 in fact) - but it's all about value. The Patriots will receive compensation for Samuel. Don't expect two first rounders, but expect something. The Patriots did the right thing by tagging him. It gives the team more time to hammer out a long-term deal...and if that doesn't work, they'll get compensated for him.

Nothing's changed today.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

The Google AdSense banners at the bottom of the page are killing me. As of this moment, there's a "Own Your Own Franchise" banner. Over in the Politics cesspool, there's a "McCain 2008" banner under an anti-McCain thread.

"Own Your Own Franchise" indeed. Anyone want to own Asante for a high pick or two?

Regards,
Chris

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

He says he doesn't want to be here. OK Asante! If you don't want to be here we'll accomodate you. Have fun in Oakland, Detroit, or Cleveland. Idiot.

I know we'll never get those high picks straight up but may be a package of players and/or picks going both ways. I don't know, but if a player doesn't want to be here, then let's get him out - he's all about the money (maybe he should be) but see the damn good thing you have going here.

 

[fgssand]

He says he doesn't want to be here. OK Asante! If you don't want to be here we'll accomodate you. Have fun in Oakland, Detroit, or Cleveland. Idiot.

I know we'll never get those high picks straight up but may be a package of players and/or picks going both ways. I don't know, but if a player doesn't want to be here, then let's get him out - he's all about the money (maybe he should be) but see the damn good thing you have going here.

Did you even to bother to read what he said??

He is not wrong, actually, if NE said he would receive an "elite" contract, where is it??

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10108712

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

Did you even to bother to read what he said??

He is not wrong, actually, if NE said he would receive an "elite" contract, where is it??

"This is to let everybody know that I'm not happy anymore and things are not going well," Samuel told Schefter. "At first I thought it was going well, but it's not. We have a difference of opinion in my value. They think I'm worth one price and the other teams think I'm worth a lot more. If a long-term deal can’t be done at fair numbers for me and New England, then I want to be traded."

Samuel says that he is prepared to sit out the season, if need be. "If it's best for me and my family," Samuel said, "I will do that. Absolutely."

"I've been patient, haven't said anything bad, haven't said anything negative," Samuel said. "But my patience has run out. Business is business. They handled their business their way and I'm handling my business my way. I hope not, I really hope not, but it's looking more and more like it could be time to move on."

Yeah, I did read what he said, in fact I'll show it to you here. If the Pats said that he would receive an 'elite' contract, it is their perogative as to when he gets it - today, tomorrow, next week, next month or the day before the regular season. If they said that they will take care of him, then they will at what they perceive his market value is and as he states above they are not on the same page. Read his last sentence above - he thinks it is time to move on. Alright, if he doesn't want to be here then he goes. Him pouting all year is not what this team needs.

 

[zippo59]

Did you even to bother to read what he said??

He is not wrong, actually, if NE said he would receive an "elite" contract, where is it??

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10108712

My gut tells me that the hitch is coming from the two sides having different perceptions of "elite" contracts.

 

[JoeSixPat]

What use is it?

Go back and look at exactly how many franchise players have actually held out for the season and you'll have your answer.

 

[DaBruinz]

Did you even to bother to read what he said??

He is not wrong, actually, if NE said he would receive an "elite" contract, where is it??

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10108712

Who is to say that the Pats didn't offer him what they felt was an ELITE contract? Just because Asante doesn't think it was ELITE doesn't mean it wasn't.

 

[aluminum seats]

Well, the value is pretty obvious. If you don't tag a guy, he's free free free--whatever he can get, away he goes. With the tag, you at least have some measure of control, in the sense that he won't sign elsewhere without SOMETHING coming back to you.

Now, it's obviously true that if a guy doesn't want to play--is willing to sit out--then there's not a lot that can be done. This is where the Branch situation required a lot of thought. Arguably, it might have been better for the Pats, long term, to let him sit out. Not out of spite, or to screw him (although doing that to a guy who stiffs you on a contract would be satisfying) but to send the message to future guys that that's what would happen. Everyone is naturally happy with the two first rounders we have now, but keep in mind that we've paid a price--guys like Samuel have it in their minds that if they want to hold out for more, they can.......and it will pay off for them.

 

[Patriot Missile]

What use is it?

Go back and look at exactly how many franchise players have actually held out for the season and you'll have your answer.

I understand the use of getting compensated but it does seem to becoming a trend of guys holding out. I got a feeling this will be the way the player and agent deal with the so called tag from here on out.

 

[solman]

Absolutley none. If a player doesn't want to be franchised, evidently he doesn't have to play. Simple as that. Why even bother franchising someone anymore?

As far as I'm concerned the Players Union agreed to the franchise tag or else it wouldn't be allowed in the NFL. It's too bad stiffer penalties weren't set as far as fines. Maybe if the owners could collect the money not paid which they already do plus +services not rendered some of these players may opt to come into camp. Maybe even a one year suspension would be fine with me.

I try to see it from a players perspective but I can't. 7 million is alot to the average Joe like me.

Lets not kid ourselves. The Franchise tag is all powerful. Once a player is franchised he has no leverage.

If no trade is engineered, Asante HAS TO play for the Pats in 2007. If he sits home, he not only loses $7.8M in salary, he greatly decreases his desirability as a free agent in 2008. This could easily total more than $20M.

It is positively comical that a player who has only earned about $2M during his entire career would choose to go this route. No sane front office would believe it.

For the football team, a sit out is of minimal consequence. The Pats would lose Asante's services for one year, but they would gain $7.8M in cap space. This is a bad trade, but only by a little bit. IF Asante has another pro bowl caliber year, he is still probably less than $10M. That's a big if. So the Patriots are faced with a worst case loss of $2M in value while Asante is faced with a likely loss of $20M in value. There is no way to negotiate with a losing hand like that.

The only card the player has to play is the press card. Its therefore no surprise that players go there early and often. For a weak front office, this might be enough to force the team to deal. For the Patriots, not a chance. Asante's only hope is that some teams is willing to pay both him and the Patriots far more than he is worth.

 

[Julius]

Losing Samuel to a trade or a sit out will alter the Patriots draft strategy. I think they will now need to use their first pick on the best cornerback available. If that means trading up a few spots in the first round so be it. I would like to see Darrelle Revis out of Pittsburgh be drafted to replace Samuel.
If the Pats can get value for Samuel and use those picks to get a few young DB's then they should go for it. They would also save cap money which they could use to sign say Ty Warren to a long term deal.

 

[thesmee1]

I don't think that Belichick and Pioli are that far removed not to know that Asante would do this. That's why they tagged him. He's all about the cash, and if that's the case, let the FO do their job and get the best for what he gave us, one year of good play.

 

[Pats726]

"They think I'm worth one price and the other teams think I'm worth a lot more."

My question is HOW does he know that other teams think he is worth more??? As far as I know THAT is only speculation on his part....Can Franchised players talk to other teams?? Is this an admission of tampering or just the usual back channels that agents use to shop their players when they can't do that according to league rules??
I think he's in a bad spot..he has the GREEN this year...let him sit...and see his value drop...If he's got an attitide problem..see ya!! He maybe wasn't in the long term plans anyway...so?? Draft a CB and move on...

 

[Isaac]

I was surprised that they didn't fix the problem in the last CBA. Seems to me that the league ought to provide some sort of injury insurance by guaranteeing the player the same guaranteed money that he'd get on the open market (or some approximation thereof -- e.g. top 5 average compensation).

E.g., by Samuel getting franchised the league says: "If you make less than 20 million over the next 3 years, we'll cover the difference, so go play." In most cases, the player will earn over the value set ; the league could certainly cover the rare injury cases. There'd have to be rules to prevent any loopholes (e.g. big money in year 4). I don't know what the downside is.

The teams would lose the ability to franchise truly non-franchise players like Tebucky (did he make his money though?). The fact that some solution wasn't negotiated indicates that the players doesn't really care about it.

 

[QuiGon]

I understand the use of getting compensated but it does seem to becoming a trend of guys holding out. I got a feeling this will be the way the player and agent deal with the so called tag from here on out.

I think different players (and agents) will handle it in different ways. Some will complain but show up and play. Some will grin and bear it, and some will use it as incentive to work out a contract. The franchise tag served this team very well when they used it a couple of years on Vinatieri. He didn't argue, jump up and down, or hold out.

As for Samuel... he will do what 99% of NFL players do when they threaten to hold out... he will come to the realization that the clock is ticking on his ability to play pro football and it is unwise to let a full year go by without receiving any income.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

I don't see what the negative would be for Asante to just play this year at the obscene Franchise Tag salary with no long term deal from the Pats other than a possible injury or fluke bad performance that could negatively impact his worth next year on the open market.

So why not a compromise.

Have the team put a offer on the table that they are obligated to sign after this season. Asante can opt to nullify the deal, putting him exactly where he would be if he just played the year as a franchise player. The pats would have to refranchise him or let him go. However, if he gets hurt or sucks it up this year, he can still opt for that guaranteed contract. Ie... he has a safety net.

Not sure if that is a legal arrangement, but it would hedge his risk of injury or fluke bad season while avoiding a holdout. Other than that, nothing changes from him playing as a franchise player this year.