The NFL has officially set the 2025 salary cap at $279.2MM, a figure that will shape teams’ financial plans as they navigate the offseason.
The salary cap doesn’t just dictate how much money teams can spend; it also factors into the calculation of franchise and transition tags. For more than three decades, teams have been able to use a franchise or transition tag on one player during the offseason to retain them on a one-year deal. The value of the franchise tag is based on the top five salaries at each position, while the transition tag is calculated using the top 10 salaries at each position.
Teams have already been able to tag players since February 18, but now they know exactly how much that decision will cost. The Chiefs, for example, moved forward with placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith. That will cost them $23.4MM this year, though the two sides are expected to continue negotiations on a long-term extension.
Other teams who were considering tags – including the Vikings with Sam Darnold and the Dolphins with Jevon Holland – will now have exact numbers to work with. Here are those figures for the non-exclusive franchise tag (via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero):
- Quarterback: $40.24MM
- Running back: $13.64MM
- Wide receiver: $23.96MM
- Tight end: $13.83MM
- Offensive line: $23.4MM
- Defensive end: $22.06MM
- Defensive tackle: $25.12MM
- Linebacker: $25.45MM
- Cornerback: $20.19MM
- Safety: $18.6MM
- Kicker/punter: $6.31MM
However, the new tag figures will not apply to players who were tagged last season, like the Bengals’ Tee Higgins. Those players can be tagged for 120% of last year’s salary. The Bengals are expected to use a second tag on Higgins, which would pay him $26.2MM in 2025. The rest of 2024’s tagged players all signed long-term extensions, making them ineligible for a tag this year.
Teams rarely use the exclusive franchise tag, which costs more than the non-exclusive tag as it prevents players from negotiating with other teams. The non-exclusive tag is more frequently used, which allows players to negotiate and sign offer sheets with other teams. The player’s previous team can then match that offer sheet to retain the player or decline to match and receive two first-round picks from the player’s new team. That process rarely plays out in full; instead, franchise tags typically lead to players signing long-term extensions with the team that tagged them.
The transition tag is similar to the non-exclusive tag in that it allows players to negotiate and sign offer sheets with other teams. The previous team maintains the right to match such offer sheets, but if they decline, they are not entitled to any draft pick compensation.
Here are the 2025 transition tag numbers:
- Quarterback: $35.38MM
- Running back: $11.07MM
- Wide receiver: $21.44MM
- Tight end: $11.71MM
- Offensive line: $21.27MM
- Defensive end: $19.87MM
- Defensive tackle: $20.85MM
- Linebacker: $20.86MM
- Cornerback: $17.6MM
- Safety: $15.03MM
- Kicker/punter: $5.73MM
It’s worth noting that the NFL maintains two archaic positional designations in its calculations for franchise and transition tags (as well as fifth-year options.) All offensive linemen are grouped together, rather than separating centers, guards, and tackles. All linebackers also fall under one category, meaning that inside linebackers fall under the same category as outside linebackers, even those who are primarily edge rushers. These distinctions have made it difficult for teams to tag interior offensive linemen and inside linebackers due to the significantly larger salaries of offensive tackles and edge rushers, though the Chiefs didn’t let it stop them this year.
And figures like this are why myself and many others will never be able to afford going to a game.