The NFL has several interesting windows and complex, yet interesting rules, including the Franchise Tag.
In the NFL, Franchise Tag is a tool allotted to the general managers, which they can use once a season.
The 2025 NFL offseason is set to hit the grounds in full gear. Following that, many teams’ GMs locked their key free agents with a franchise tag.
Franchise Tag allows the team to retain a to-be unrestricted free-agent player, offering him a one-year contract.
This action ensures that the player will remain with the team for at least a season. It works even if the player hasn’t agreed to a long-term contract.
The NFL teams can apply either an exclusive or non-exclusive franchise tag. Though both actions happen within the same window, they aren’t the same.
A player under an exclusive franchise tag receives a one-year contract with top salaries or 120% of their salary.
The non-exclusive franchise tag offers a contract and salary similar to the exclusive tag.
However, the difference lies in the allowance to negotiate with other teams. While non-exclusive players can negotiate, exclusive-tagged players can’t negotiate.
The original team has RTM options if an athlete under a non-exclusive tag negotiates to sign with another team.
As the offseason fever returns, here are the potential candidates for the 2025 NFL Franchise Tag for all 32 teams:
| NFL Teams | Potential 2025 Franchise Tag |
| Washington Commanders | None |
| Tennessee Titans | None |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | None |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Zack Baun |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | None |
| San Francisco 49ers | None |
| Seattle Seahawks | None |
| New York Jets | D.J. Reed |
| New England Patriots | None |
| New York Giants | None |
| New Orleans Saints | None |
| Minnesota Vikings | Sam Darnold |
| Los Angeles Rams | Alaric Jackson |
| Miami Dolphins | Jevon Holland |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | None |
| Los Angeles Chargers | None |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Trey Smith |
| Indianapolis Colts | None |
| Las Vegas Raiders | None |
| Houston Texans | Stefon Diggs |
| Green Bay Packers | None |
| Detroit Lions | None |
| Denver Broncos | None |
| Dallas Cowboys | Osa Odighizuwa |
| Cleveland Browns | None |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Tee Higgins |
| Chicago Bears | None |
| Carolina Panthers | None |
| Baltimore Ravens | Ronnie Stanley |
| Atlanta Falcons | None |
| Buffalo Bills | None |
| Arizona Cardinals | None |
The Franchise Tag window began at 4 p.m. ET on February 18. Teams will tag players and guarantee a full salary for the upcoming season. The tagging window closes on Tuesday, March 14, 2025.
Potential 2025 NFL Franchise Tag Players
1. Zack Baun
Zack Baun, the Philadelphia Eagles star linebacker, is one of the reasons the Eagles lifted the Super Bowl.
Apart from winning the Bowl with the team, his stats have been quite fascinating.
In the 2024 regular season, Zack had 151 tackles, 93 of which were solo tackles. He also had 3.5 sacks and one interception.
His best game came in Super Bowl LIX where he accumulated 7 tackles and intercepted against Patrick Mahomes.
Following the Super Bowl, Baun has a massive pay bump due in 2025. He will get an additional $27.05 million if he gets the franchise tag.
2. D.J. Reed
Another NFL popular figure, D.J. Reeds, is one of the potential franchise tag players for the Jets.
Though Reed remains a potential player, the New York Jets have $16.8 million in salary cap space.
The CB would get $20,357,000 as part of the Franchise Tag contract.
D.J. started 14 games for the New York Jets in the 2024 season. During those 14 games, he recorded 64 tackles and a sack.
Unfortunately, he had to settle without an interception for the season. However, we don’t know the future for Reed in the NFL.
3. Sam Darnold
The Minnesota Vikings QB held Sam with a one-year deal last offseason.
While Sam Darnold sees a lengthening extension with the Vikings, the team could keep him for a season more to help McCarthy develop.
The Vikings quarterback had a strong 2024 season, completing 361 of 545 passes for a 66.2% completion rate.
Starting in over 17 games, the QB recorded 4,319 passing yards and averaged 254.1 yards per game.
Darnold’s contributed to the team’s 14-3 regular season record. The strong season even earned him his first Pro Bowl selection.
If tagged, the QB would earn $41,325,000 as part of a one-year contract.
4. Alaric Jackson
Alaric Jackson, the LA Rams’ No. 77 pick, could be an option to prevent the OT from moving.
However, the franchise tag pay could be a little higher than what the Rams currently have.
They would have to pay Jackson a whooping $25,156,000 if agreed.
Alaric has played 14 games during the 2024 season, even after facing a two-match ban for the two games.
In 2024, he played 893 offensive snaps and allowed 3 sacks.
Though he had an average season this year, as got the 36th rank for offensive snaps among 141 tackles.
5. Jevon Holland
Miami Dolphins Jevon Holland might be a potential player the team would want for another season.
However, they are just five million over the cap, and keeping Jevon would be costlier.
If Miami tags him, the young SS would get $19.6 million guaranteed for next season.
In 2024, Jevon played 15 games for the Dolphins, accumulating 62 tackles (42 solos) and allowing a sack.
Jevon Holland forced a fumble through the season. Unfortunately, this is the lowest tackle count in his four-year NFL career.
Trey Smith, Stefon Diggs, Osa Odighizuwa, Tee Higgins, and Ronnie Stanley are other potential players for the 2025 Franchise Tag.
Over The Cap has projected the franchise tag figures based on the position.
| Position | Projected Franchise Tag |
| QB | $41,325,000 |
| LB | $27,050,000 |
| WR | $25,693,000 |
| OL | $25,156,000 |
| DE | $24,727,000 |
| DT | $23,468,000 |
| CB | $20,357,000 |
| S | $19,626,000 |
| TE | $14,241,000 |
| RB | $13,629,000 |
| ST | $6,459,000 |
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