Franchise Tag Numbers: How Much Will it Cost to Tag a QB?

Tuesday marked the first day of the NFL off season where teams can officially place the franchise tag on one of their players.

The Philadelphia Eagles have the opportunity to do so at the quarterback position, but how much will it cost them?

When and if the Denver Broncos apply the franchise tag to Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, how much will that one year price tag be?

Kevin Patra, NFL.com, did his best in trying to guesstimate how much each position will cost to keep your player around for one year in hopes of signing him to a long term contract extension.

The following numbers are based off a salary cap of $153 million which is the ballpark figure that Albert Breer, NFL Media, reported it could be back in December.

Quarterback: $19.6 million ($17.5 million)
Defensive end: $15.4 million ($12.5 million)
Wide Receiver: $14.4 million ($12.0 million)
Linebacker: $14.0 million ($11.7 million)
Cornerback: $13.7 million ($11.7 million)
Offensive line: $13.5 million ($11.7 million)
Defensive tackle: $13.4 million ($10.7 million)
Running back: $11.5 million ($9.5 million)
Safety: $10.6 million ($9.0 million)
Tight End: $9.0 million ($7.6 million)
Kicker/Punter: $4.5 million ($4.0 million)

The number of $153 million is on the high end of what Breer reported back in December, if the adjusted salary cap is higher or lower than $153 million, these numbers will adjust accordingly.

So in the case of the Eagles and the thought of tagging Bradford, it would cost the team just shy of $20 million and as Joe Giglio points out: only 8 quarterbacks have been tagged since the franchise tag inception in 1993.

If you look at these numbers closely, you'll see that a position like linebacker is higher than cornerback, as well as the position of running back carrying such a high figure of $11.5 million. In 2015, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrain Peterson carried a base salary of $11 million under a restructured contract.

Teams have until March 1st to designate the franchise tag on one of it's players.

--PG