Today came some news that honestly doesn’t make me entirely comfortable. It’s being reported that both Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, unrestricted free agents in 2011 and 2012 respectively, are requesting to be exempt from the franchise tag as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. Why would they request this? It’s pretty simple really, it’s a play to have all the bargaining power as their deals come close to expiring. In Manning’s case, his deal is already expired and he would be free to sign with anyone if the Colts couldn’t find protection by worse case scenario placing a franchise tag on him. It may pave the way for Manning to play with a different uniform this upcoming season, who knows? Right now all 32 teams would be free to throw whatever kind of money they would want at him. Yes I still believe he’ll come back to the Colts, but they have to be a little nervous about how tempting open market money can be.
So why Brees & Manning, and not all of the other players in the league?
Well, they’re about to be the two highest paid players in NFL history, most likely. The ability of a team to essentially handcuff them from the open market by placing a franchise tag on them limits the amount of money they can command. That’s incredibly beneficial to the team in trying to retain their best player, and infuriating to the player in his attempt to score top dollar and land a long term deal. Ultimately the players want this because it increases to ceiling value of their top veterans.
This now forces the Saints’ hand a little bit if it passes. Should this be part of the new CBA, the Saints couldn’t wait till next offseason to sign Brees with the comfort of knowing that they won’t lose him regardless if they franchise tag him. Now, if he signs elsewhere they lose him with no compensation whatsoever. Brees would have all the negotiating power to basically say “pay me THIS or I’m leaving”. That could further strap the Saints’ cap flexibility, and it runs the risk of turning ugly. Does it make me worry that Brees might not come back to the Saints? Not totally. I never expect that it’ll get to the franchise tag point anyway. The Saints will pay him what he’s worth and give him what he wants, I do believe that. Does it make me ever so slightly more nervous? Definitely. This would wipe away the insurance policy fall back plan, which is never a good thing.
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