Minnesota Vikings place franchise tag on linebacker Chad Greenway
The Minnesota Vikings became the latest team to put the franchise tag on one of its players in the offseason. Linebacker Chad Greenway has been given the exclusive franchise player tag by the Vikings, which will keep him on Minnesota’s roster during 2011.
Given the ongoing labour dispute, teams are hesitant about signing key players to long-term contracts. The collective bargaining agreement, among other things, establishes the salary cap for National Football League (NFL) teams. Right now the Players Association
(NFLPA) and the league are locked in negotiations which will determine the salary cap.
NFL owners are asking players to reduce their cut of the total revenue by almost a billion dollars. The salary cap is calculated against revenue, so if the owners get their way, the cap could be lowered by as much as $30 million for each team.
Key players who are entering the free agency are faced with a unique problem because of the lack of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). NFL clubs do not want to risk expensive long-term contracts until the murky waters of the labour dispute clear up.
Another problem which players entering free agency face is whether clubs will resign players who have had breakthrough years or are coming off rookie contracts.
Without the CBA, NFL clubs cannot resign a player for more than 30 percent of his previous salary. Rookie players who earn their chops before becoming free agents are in for a tough time because they can get only 30 percent of their rookie salary from their
team. Minnesota’s Chad Greenway is one such player. In 2010, the final year of his rookie contract, Greenway made $3.17 million. Until a new CBA is signed, the Vikings can offer Greenway only a 30 percent raise.
However, Greenway can easily get a contract worth far more if he enters free agency, and signs with a different club. So the Minnesota Vikings have decided to place the franchise tag on Greenway.
A franchised player can either get 120 percent of his previous salary, or the average of the top five players who play at his position; whichever of the two is more. The players union maintains that without a labour agreement, the franchise tags are meaningless
for now. It is however, expected that a new deal will include the provision in some shape or form, and the franchise tags will be honoured.
In Greenway’s case, he will receive the average of the top five highest paid linebackers from 2010 which is estimated to be around $10 million. The entire sum of that money is guaranteed. The Vikings can franchise Greenway again in the 2012 season but they
would have to raise his salary by 20 percent for that season.
“Chad’s an important part of our team and his play speaks for itself,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said on the Vikings website. He added, “He’s productive and has continued to improve each year he has been in the NFL. He’s a leader for us in the locker
room and on the field.”
Before the end of the year, Greenway will be offered a contract extension by the Vikings. However, that extension won’t come before the NFL and the Players Association do not sign a new collective bargaining agreement.
Greenway said that he was pleased with the decision by the Vikings to apply the franchise tag to him. He said that it showed how much the club valued him as a player. He also said that since being drafted by the Vikings, it was his goal to continue playing
for the club and retiring in Minnesota.
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