So a term that’s being thrown around a lot today is the term “franchise tag.” Each NFL team is able to designate one player with the franchise tag, which prevents the player from becoming a free agent. A free agent is a player whose contract has expired with one team and is eligible to sign with another. The franchise tag on a a player guarantees that player to the franchise (the NFL team) for another year if certain conditions are met. Oftentimes the franchise tag is put on a player who is currently in contract negotiations with his current team and the parties haven’t come to contract terms amicable to both parties.

Stay with me here…I can feel you zoning out on me already.

There are actually two types of franchise tags – exclusive and non-exclusive. I’m not gonna lie to you, I didn’t know the difference before today. I actually didn’t even know there were two types of franchise tags before today. So back to the lecture at hand…the exclusive franchise tag means that the player must be offered a one year contract by their current team and cannot negotiate with other teams. The player must be paid the average of the top paid player at their respective position over the last five seasons. Sure, sounds easy enough.

A non-exclusive franchise tag must be offered a one year contract with the same pay as an exclusive tag, but the player CAN negotiate with other teams. If he signs an offer sheet with another team, the previous team (the one who put the tag on him) has the right to match the offer and keep the player. If the previous team chooses not to match the offer, they receive the new team’s first round draft pick in the next year.

So – clear as mud?

Here are the players that have been given the franchise tag so far this year:

Philadelphia Eagles – wide receiver DeSean Jackson (non-exclusive)

Baltimore Ravens – running back Ray Rice

Washington Redskins – tight end Fred Davis

Oakland Raiders – strong safety Tyvon Branch (exclusive)

Atlanta Falcons – cornerback Brent Grimes

Cleveland Browns – kicker Phil Dawson

San Francisco 49ers – safety Dashon Goldson (non-exclusive)

The deadline for teams to place the franchise tag on players is Monday, March 5th, so expect more announcements this weekend.