Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson is expected to be among the recipients once NFL teams start handing out franchise-player designations Tuesday.
Wilkerson and Gang Green are considered so far apart in contract negotiations — indeed, the sides haven’t even discussed a deal since before the start of last season — that the franchise tag is viewed around the league as a given.
Under the franchise tag, the player gets a one-year deal for the average of the five highest-paid players at his position. In the case of Wilkerson, that is projected to equal a contract worth $15.5 million.
Aside from Wilkerson, other key veterans expected to get the franchise tag this year include Broncos Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, Chiefs safety Eric Berry and Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon. The Redskins also appear likely to use the franchise tag to keep quarterback Kirk Cousins from getting away.
Clubs have until 4 p.m. March 1 to give players in the final year of their contract the franchise or transition tag. If they don’t get the tag, those players hit the open market when free agency begins March 9.
The tag isn’t a guarantee that players will play the upcoming season under it, though. Teams can continue to negotiate long-term contracts with players given the franchise tag, although that window closes July 15 and doesn’t reopen until after the regular season.
There also are two types of franchise designation — exclusive and nonexclusive. Players deemed nonexclusive can negotiate with other teams, and their previous team would receive two first-round picks as compensation if it chooses not to match the offer.
League sources expect the salary cap to jump to $155 million this season, a whopping $12 million increase over last year that should make it easier for the Jets and other teams to keep their star players from escaping in free agency.
Conversely, the large number of expected franchise designations also will make the overall free-agent pool a lot less attractive. The most prominent players not expected to be tagged include Buccaneers running back Doug Martin, Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, Chargers safety Eric Weddle and offensive tackle Russell Okung and linebacker Bruce Irvin of the Seahawks.
In the case of Wilkerson, the chances of a long-term deal appear slim at this point. The Jets have remained firm about not overpaying Wilkerson, and if anything, that resolve is thought to have strengthened with the emergence of rookie defensive tackle Leonard Williams last season.
The Jets could opt to tag Wilkerson with the nonexclusive designation, then trade him, in part because of all that depth along the defensive line, but it would be a complicated process that makes it unlikely.
It wouldn’t be unprecedented for the Jets to trade a 27-year-old defensive star in his prime, though. They did just that in 2006, when pass-rusher John Abraham was given the franchise tag, then traded to the Falcons for the one first-round pick required in those deals at the time.