The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made use of their franchise tag in four of the last six offseasons, but it looks like they may now go two straight years without exercising that option.
The two-week window in which teams are allowed to place franchise or transition tags on players opened on Tuesday and will run through 4:00 p.m. on March 3. The Buccaneers have 17 players who are set to become unrestricted free agents if they are not re-signed prior to the beginning of the new league year on March 11. That list is headlined by franchise icons Mike Evans and Lavonte David, but it does not include any obvious tag candidates.
The Buccaneers also did not use a franchise or transition tag in 2025; in fact, only two teams did as Kansas City tagged guard Trey Smith and Cincinnati tagged wide receiver Tee Higgins. Both Smith and Higgins ended up signing multi-year extensions with their teams rather than playing the season on the one-year contract offer that was extended as part of the tag.
The NFL's franchise tag option was created in 1993 as part of the original collective bargaining agreement, and in the 33 seasons that followed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made use of it just eight times, or an average of just under once every four years. However, the Buccaneers have been far more willing to give out franchise tags in recent years; four of those eight instances have come since the 2020 offseason.
All of the players who received franchise tags from the Buccaneers since 2020 ended up staying with the team beyond that season. The Bucs used a tag on outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett in 2020 after he had led the NFL with a franchise-record 19.5 sacks in 2019. Barrett played the 2020 season the tag, then signed a multi-year contract to remain with the Buccaneers in 2021.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin then got the tag in both 2021 and 2022; he signed the tag shortly after receiving it in 2021 but he and the team reached agreement on a long-term deal a week after the tag was applied again in 2022. In 2024, Tampa Bay and All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. were able to work out a new four-year deal in May, a little over two months after the franchise tag gave the two sides more time to negotiate without Winfield hitting the open market.
As those three cases demonstrate, the franchise tag can be a valuable tool to extend the exclusive negotiating period with an important player who is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA). In addition to Evans and David, the Bucs' current list of pending UFAs includes such 2025 starters as cornerback Jamel Dean, tight end Cade Otton and defensive lineman Logan Hall, plus running back Rachaad White.
There are three types of tags available for use by teams, but only one can be used in any given year. The transition tag, which is used relatively rarely, allows players the ability to negotiate with other teams but gives their original club a chance to match any offer they receive. The one-year salary that comes with the tag, if signed, is either 120% of the player's previous salary or the average of the top 10 cap hits at his position over the previous five years, whichever is higher.
There are two types of franchise tags, exclusive and non-exclusive. The exclusive variety prevents a player from negotiating with other teams but carries a higher price tag. The non-exclusive variety allows the player to talk to other teams, with the original team having the opportunity to match any offers. Exclusive tags pay 120% of the previous salary or the average of the five top cap hits at the position in the previous year. Non-exclusive tags pay 120% of the previous salary or the average of the five cap hits of the last five seasons.
As noted, the Bucs have used a franchise tag eight times since it became an option in 1993. That year they placed a tag on standout left tackle Paul Gruber, who responded with a five-game holdout but eventually signed a new long-term deal with the team. The Bucs also used the tag in 1999 on defensive end Chidi Ahanotu, in 2009 on wide receiver Antonio Bryant and in 2012 on kicker Connor Barth.
