NGT: Williams asked for no franchise tag in rookie contract; Bears declined

[MightyGiants]

As the Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams haggle over remaining language in his rookie deal, there's one clause that definitely won't be added.

Per multiple sources, Williams asked the Bears to agree not to use the franchise tag upon expiration of his rookie contract. The Bears declined.

Although multiple veteran players have secured such a commitment (e.g., Dak Prescott), no rookie has finagled a promise that they won't be tagged. Williams arguably had the leverage to accomplish it.

The best time to use that leverage would have been before the draft. Prior to the adoption of the rookie wage scale in 2011, teams with the first overall pick would often negotiate with multiple players before the draft, hoping to entice one of them to agree to terms. Nowadays, with top prospects bringing bank accounts stuffed with NIL cash to the NFL, someone like Williams could say, for example, drop the franchise tag or I won't play for you. And, if you draft me, I'll sit out the entire season and re-enter the draft next year.

It's a delicate P.R. move, given that fans align with the laundry and the media does the players few favors when it comes to assigning black hats. Williams didn't try it. Ultimately, he didn't get one of the terms he wanted.

If he had, it would have created a precedent on which plenty of future first-round picks could have capitalized.

And that's good news for the NFL. If a no-tag clause ever became commonplace in first-round contracts, teams would have them for five years at the most, with no way to keep the market from determining their value as of year six.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/caleb-williams-asked-for-no-franchise-tag-in-rookie-contract-bears-declined

[uconnjack8]

Seems like an odd thing to try and negotiate at this point.  They will have the 5th year option regardless.   By the time he is eligible the franchise tag will be over 40 million (probably closer to 50) and teams rarely use it on QBs because of the cap ramifications.

Get an agent kid.

[jgrangers2]

This seems really dumb. He's either a franchise QB and gets a new contract 1-2 years before this becomes a question or he's not worth franchising.

[DaveBrown74]

Agree with previous comments. I'm not understanding the point of this. Seems like a pointless thing to try to do, whether you get them to agree or not, and you just end up looking like even more of an entitled diva in the process.

[Ed Vette]

Or he could be a bust of epic proportions.

[DaveBrown74]

Or he could be a bust of epic proportions.

Would be far from the first time with a hyped up USC QB.

Darnold, Leinhart, Sanchez, Marinovich, etc.

Outside of Carson Palmer, no USC QB has ever panned out in a big way. And Williams is hardly the first one who has received major hype coming into the league.

[MightyGiants]

Or he could be a bust of epic proportions.

Pretty much how many saw him coming out.  He was the boom-or-bust QB prospect in this draft.

[Ed Vette]

Pretty much how many saw him coming out.  He was the boom-or-bust QB prospect in this draft.

Not that many, as I recall. I felt like a lone wolf.

[MightyGiants]

Not that many, as I recall. I felt like a lone wolf.

I always felt the same way

[uconnjack8]

Not that many, as I recall. I felt like a lone wolf.

Felt like there were some strong voices on here saying that not picking him at 1 would be a huge mistake.  Not sure percentage wise, but the voices in favor of him were very strong.

[WheresDayne]

If he goes on to be "a bust of epic proportions", the franchise tag won't even be a thought.  I too don't get this.  Seems like the kid just likes to stir the pot...

[MightyGiants]

If he goes on to be "a bust of epic proportions", the franchise tag won't even be a thought.  I too don't get this.  Seems like the kid just likes to stir the pot...

If a player is very good, teams use the franchise tag as leverage to reduce the amount of a contract (Sign this contract or we franchise you)

[DaveBrown74]

While I would not want to get tagged if I were an elite player, due to the risks you're forced to take on (major injury with no contract, an off year, etc), in my mind getting tagged as an elite QB is not nearly as bad as getting tagged as, say, an elite RB.

Great QBs play well into their mid 30s, not infrequently to late 30s or even 40-plus, as we have seen recently. One year of not having a big multi year deal is hardly the end of the world. It's not like you're not still getting paid very good money in your tag year, plus your contract will likely be more the year after than it would be if they just give it to you instead of the tag.

With an elite RB, one year matters a lot. Needless to say, after the tag year, you're clearly still going to get a big second contract assuming there are no major hitches in your tag year, but your odds of a getting a lucrative third contract go down materially after being tagged. Look at Saquon's situation. He's already 27, and he's just now for the first time playing on his second contract. It's a three year deal, so he'll be 30 years old when he's negotiating his third contract, if he is at all. Many if not most RBs are finished by 30, or at least not anywhere near the player they were when they were younger.

This is no knock on him as a player, but given the shelf life of his position, I could easily see a situation where Saquon's best hope as a 30 year old free agent is getting a prove-it type one year deal, maybe a two year with a year two out. The odds of ending up with that type of outcome instead of a better outcome (say another three year deal with a two year out and a nice guarantee) are clearly higher because of that tag year.

That wouldn't really be the case with QBs. There really isn't a great deal of value difference for a 29 year old QB versus a 30 or 31 year old QB. Sure, it's not zero difference, but no team would have any issue handing a huge third contract to a 31 or 32 year old Mahomes or Josh Allen. So that extra tag year just matters a lot less for QBs than many if not all other positions due to the normal shelf life factor.