Breaking down numbers for 2024 franchise and transition tags 

Friday afternoon’s unveiling of the 2024 salary cap brings clarity to the franchise tag scene. Already in this year’s window to apply tags, teams now know officially what it will cost to do so.

This marks the 32nd offseason in which NFL teams could use franchise or transition tags, a player-retention tool brought on along with the emergence of full-fledged free agency in 1993. 

Teams can use either the franchise or transition tag during an offseason, but not both. While Xavier McKinney has already come up as a transition-tag candidate, only four players have been slapped with that designation over the past 10 years. 

Handfuls of players are franchise-tagged each year, however.

Some candidates are on the radar to be tagged, though no team has designated a franchise player yet this year. 

Here are the 2024 non-exclusive tag numbers by position, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero:

• Quarterback: $38.3M
• Running back: $11.95M
• Wide receiver: $21.82M
• Tight end: $12.69M
• Offensive line: $20.99M
• Defensive end: $21.32M
• Defensive tackle: $22.1M
• Linebacker: $24M
• Cornerback: $19.8M
• Safety: $17.12M
• Kicker/punter: $5.98M

This does not apply to all franchise-tag candidates. Players who were tagged in 2023 would be tied to a number that comes in 120 percent north of their 2023 salary. 

This previously established the tag prices of Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard. None of those running backs is a lock to be tagged this year, and due to the cap growth, Barkley’s tag figure of barely $12M is roughly the same as what it will cost a team to tag a running back for the first time this year.

Chris Jones‘ situation also differs, due to the star Chiefs defensive tackle being tagged in 2020. A Jones tag would cost the Chiefs 120 percent of his pre-restructure 2023 salary. 

That number coming in beyond $32M makes the eight-year veteran prohibitive to tag. Jones’ camp received some good news via the $255.4M cap reveal, which gives teams more money to spend this offseason.

The exclusive tag, which prevents players from speaking with other teams, is rarely used due to the increased costs and the non-exclusive tag being an effective deterrent at keeping players off the market. 

The non-exclusive tag mandates a team that signs a player to an unmatched offer sheet send two first-round picks to the player’s previous club. 

The transition tag, however, entitles a team to no compensation if it fails to match an offer sheet for a player.

Here are the 2024 transition tag numbers:

• Quarterback: $34.37M
• Running back: $9.77M
• Wide receiver: $19.77M
• Tight end: $10.88M
• Offensive line: $19M
• Defensive end: $19.1M
• Defensive tackle: $18.49M
• Linebacker: $19.97M
• Cornerback: $17.22M
• Safety: $13.82M
• Kicker/punter: $5.43M