The League

I just want to throw an idea out there.

Currently, the salaries used for tagging are calculated using the top 3, 10, and 20 salaries of players on a roster on week 13 of the previous season. Players with 1 year contracts in the previous season are also used when determining these salaries.

I suggest that we should wait until February 1st, when the new season begins to calculate tag salaries for the upcoming seasons. That would mean that all players who only had 1 contract year in the previous season would have zero years and technically are no longer rostered in the new season. Players eligible for tagging would also have zero contract years on Feb. 1st and would not be included in calculating tag salaries.

This year for example, the salaries of players whose contracts will expire and players that have been dropped after week 13 of last year are included in the calculation. I propose that we exclude the previous years salaries of all players who will become free agents when the new season begins.

In order to keep track of the salaries of upcoming free agents, we can post a list of all players who are eligible to be tagged, with their salary in the previous season and the name of the team that holds the rights to tag them.


Gridiron Geeks

Ingram, Mark NOS RB $5,671,931
Jeffery, Alshon CHI WR $1,281,087

What do you think?

What problem are you trying to solve?

I think the way it works right now is good. The tags were adjusted recently and the week 13 deadline coincides with being unable to sign players to contracts if they've been dropped after week 13.

I think what's being proposed would force teams to roster players w/ bad/dead contracts thru the playoffs so that the tagging price remains high on that position

braven112 wrote:What problem are you trying to solve?

There are players who are no longer rostered whose salaries are being used to formulate tag salaries. There will be other players who will be dropped rather than tagged, whose salaries are part of the tag salary calculations.

I'm suggesting that tag salaries for 2018 could be based on 2018 salaries, not 2017 salaries. We could incorporate the player tagging process in the beginning of each new season instead of it being an extension of the previous season. Under the current system, we will determine 2018 tag values using 2017 data, and designate player tags for 2018 in the 2017 season, but then bid on those tagged players in the 2018 season. The entire tagging process could be a function of the 2018 season.

We could change the deadline to drop players each season before Feb 1st. We could make Feb 1st the start of the new season instead of Feb 15th. Tag values could be calculated after salaries are raised and contract years reduced. Only the salaries of players under contract could be used to determine tags.

Cybergeek wrote:

braven112 wrote:What problem are you trying to solve?

There are players who are no longer rostered whose salaries are being used to formulate tag salaries. There will be other players who will be dropped rather than tagged, whose salaries are part of the tag salary calculations.

I still don't see a problem that this solves. It's what the NFL does, which is what this league is all about. Every salary in our league is based off of last years salary.

Under your proposal, players with one year deals would never be included in tag salary calculations?

Players that were tagged the previous year wouldn't be included unless they were tagged again?

We also wouldn't know what it would cost to tag players until after they are tagged. I don't want that.

braven112 wrote: I still don't see a problem that this solves. It's what the NFL does, which is what this league is all about. Every salary in our league is based off of last years salary.

Under your proposal, players with one year deals would never be included in tag salary calculations?

Players that were tagged the previous year wouldn't be included unless they were tagged again?

We also wouldn't know what it would cost to tag players until after they are tagged. I don't want that.

That's fine, I understand not wanting to change certain aspects of the rules. Not trying to pursue this any longer, but would like to answer a couple of your points.

braven112 wrote: I still don't see a problem that this solves. It's what the NFL does, which is what this league is all about. Every salary in our league is based off of last years salary.

The NFL does use the salaries of players in the year in which a tag is in effect for an exclusive franchise player. Only the salaries of players under contract are used, the prior years' salary of players whose contracts have expired are not used. Some other NFL tags are based on 5 year averages, while others are just based on a percentage of increase over the prior season.

braven112 wrote: Under your proposal, players with one year deals would never be included in tag salary calculations?

Correct. Players with one year deals in the previous season would not be included in tag salary calculations because they would no longer be under contract. Any player whose contract expired and was not tagged would go directly into the free agent pool.

braven112 wrote: Players that were tagged the previous year wouldn't be included unless they were tagged again?

Tagged players from the previous year who were on one year contracts would not be included because they would not be under contract. Just like an NFL exclusive rights franchise player.

braven112 wrote: We also wouldn't know what it would cost to tag players until after they are tagged. I don't want that.

In my post I had the season starting Feb 1st. We would have known the cost to tag players on Feb 1st, well before the Feb 14th deadline to place tags.

I only brought this up because that is how we do it in the salary/contract years league that I run.

Our season begins on Feb 1st, and I have already provided my league with the tag values based on 2017 salaries. I have posted a list of all players who are eligible to be tagged, with their salary in the previous season in case their salary is such that a 20 percent increase from the prior season is higher than the tag number. The name of the team that holds the rights to tag is also listed.

There is nothing wrong with the way we do things now, I wasn't looking at it as a problem that needed to be solved. I wanted to bring this alternative method to the league to see what they think.