Again, the Franchise Tag is a better deal right now than it will be in the future, or it has been in the past. As time goes on, and "top 5 deals" reflect our recent flood of cap money in the form of higher "top 5" figures, the Franchise Tag will be very difficult to use indeed.
Even assuming all the deals producing "Top 5" numbers for 2006 were made in 2005 and not before, we're basing our numbers on a league with a cap at $85.5M. Once FA cornerbacks cut their deals, they will be cutting them to reflect the CB share of $109M, or a 28% increase. So, if 2 years from now all the deals reflected in the Top 5 reflect that increase, we can predict that the 7.8M number to become about $10M.
These are gross numbers, but the idea is that the "trailing effect" of the Top 5 number is about to drag right through those big cap increases, especially 2006, but also 2007, and on into 2008. We're at the end of "cheap franchising."
So, if you ever want to use the tag, now is the time to do it. The Pats happen to have a situation where using the tag is a viable option in the first place, and this dynamic makes it a more attractive option.
The only thing that will countermand this logic, is if a) no "good" corners are redoing deals in the next few years, b) everybody in the "top 5" cut their deals in 2006, or c) Cornerbacks begin to be paid less relative to other positions.
CB is the highest-paid defensive position, league-wide. I don't think we can afford a high-paid corner, but we can afford to franchise one (especially if we trade him, so someone else is picking up at least part or all of the tab.)
just my same .02 worth, over and over again,
PFnV