NFL Franchise Players 2009

The NFL has a unique form of free agency that allows for more parity than many other sports league. Combinedwith the salary cap it allows for the worst team in the league from one year to become a contender the next, like the 2007 (1-15) vs. the 2008 (11-5 and AFC East Champions Miami Dolphins. One feature that makes free agency work is the Franchise Tag.

The franchise tag allows each team to designate one unrestricted free agent as their franchise player. This tag is used on players who are very valuable to the team and would be hard, if not impossible, to replace. There are two types of the franchise tag. "Exclusive" franchise tags are an offer no less than the average of the top 5 salaries of players at that position in the league in April of that same year or a 20% raise, whichever is more. Say for example that a player was paid $10 million last year and the average of the top 5 players in the coming year will be $11.5 million, the player would have to be offered at least $12 million. "Exclusive" tags prevent the player from negotiating with any other team. The "Non-exclusive" tag is an offer of the average of the top 5 players at that position for the last year (this would be the top 5 player salaries from 2008) or a 20% raise, whichever is more. "Non-exclusive" players can negotiate with other team and if they sign an offer, their current team has the right to match or lose the player and get two first round draft picks from the team that the player signed with.

Many teams weigh the advantages and disadvantages of "tagging" a player. It can be very expensive. For example, a "non-exclusive" quarterback this year would cost $14.65 million. Teams sometimes use the tag to keep the player and then try to sign a long term deal. Others will tag a player and then try to negotiate a trade with another team. However, teams only have until February 19th to tag a player this year, so they have to decide soon. As of the writing of this article, only two players have been tagged: Matt Cassel, QB, New England Patriots and Michael Koenen, P, Atlanta Falcons. Last year 12 teams used their tag and here is a look at who each team would franchise and how likely they are to do so.

Arizona Cardinals - Last year they used their tag on Karlos Dansby. They may do so again as they would love to retain his services at a cost of $9.68 million. He wants a long term contract so with a little work, they might be able to lock him up.

Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons have already tagged Michael Koenen as their franchise player at a cost of $2.483 million.

Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens have a lot of talent that will be going on the market and they don't have a lot of cap room ($19 million). Center Jason Brown is a young player who is very talented and it would be hard on the Ravens if they lose him. In addition Terrell Suggs, their franchise player from last year will be a free agent along with Ray Lewis and Bart Scott meaning that their linebackers could be torn apart. Kicker Matt Stover and punter Sam Koch are both invaluable, too. Chances are very good that Suggs will be tagged again at a cost of $10.17 million.

Buffalo Bills - The Bills don't have any big name free agents this year. None of the players who enter free agency as unrestricted free agents will be worth the salary that they would have to shell out for them. Even though they won't use it, the most likely recipient would be Jabari Greer ($9.9) or one of their two centers, Melvin Fowler or Duke Preston ($8.451).

Carolina Panthers - The Panthers used their tag last year on tackle Jordan Gross. He is a free agent again this year, but Carolina's tag almost certainly will go to Julius Peppers, just so they can trade him to another team. Julius has said he wants out of Carolina so he will be tagged and then traded so the Panthers will get some value out of it.

Chicago Bears - The Bears have six free agents this season. Three of them were starters last year. Safety Mike Brown has been plagued by injuries. Tackle John St. Clair will be replaced by last year's number one choice, Chris Williams. Brandon Lloyd was very up and down last season. Overall, their best bet would be franchising Brown for $6.342 million, but with his injury history, they will most likely not use their tag.
Cincinnati Bengals - Last off season, the Bengals used their tag on Stacy Andrews. This year they have a number of free agents they need to address. Stacy will be a free agent again as will kicker Shayne Graham and star receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh. The Bengals would hate to see Housh go, but they don't want to tag him and he doesn't want to be tagged. The best chance at someone getting tagged is Cedric Benson, who had a strong finish to the year, who will cost them $6.62 million.

Cleveland Browns - Cleveland will have to decide if either MLB Andra Davis or safety Sean Jones is worth the tag. They will probably decide that neither player is worth the tag figure that they would demand and try to sign both to long term deals. However, the most worthy player is probably Jones who would cost $6.34 million.

Dallas Cowboys - Ken Hamlin, a strong safety, got the tag from the Cowboys last year. This year they have seven guys who will be free agents. The obvious choice for the tag among the Cowboys free agents is DE Chris Canty. The Cowboys will probably try to lock him up long term as he is a solid young player instead of tagging him to hold him for one year. If they end up giving him the tag, he will cost $8.99 million.

Denver Broncos - The Broncos are not known for using the tag and this year will be no exception. This year they don't have anyone who is probably worth the tag. If they did need to pick one player, MLB Nate Webster would be the best choice, but he isn't worth the $8.3 million.

Detroit Lions - Detroit has 16 guys who played for them last year that might not be coming back. Only one player among those 16 is worth considering and that is kicker Jason Hanson. Rumors out of Detroit are pointing to Hanson being tagged by the end of this week at a cost of $2.48 million.

Green Bay Packers - The Packers tagged defensive tackle Corey Williams last year only weeks before trading him to the Browns. This year they only have one player who merits a second look. Mark Tauscher, their offensive tackle, would be a big loss on their line, but he is probably not worth the $8.45 million he would earn if tagged.

Houston Texans - The Texans have one really big name guy that will be an unrestricted free agent, CB Dunta Robinson. Yes, I know Owen Daniels is a free agent, but he is restricted, so he won't be franchised. The Texans will try to work out a long term deal with Robinson, but if he is not signed by the 19th, they will place the tag on him to keep him around for a while at $9.9 million.

NFL to go NBA like Draft lottery?

We can all agree that the hype, excitement, and unpredictability of the NFL Draft is far superior to any other professional sport. The worst team from the previous season picks first (as long as the pick has not been traded) and the picks go from there down to the winner of the Super Bowl having the last pick of the first round. Should this format change? The NBA has a lottery system that keeps the top picks unpredictable, which is an incentive for teams not to intentionally lose at the end of the season after all playoff hopes have gone down the toilet.

I had previously never questioned the format of the NFL Draft format. In a league where coaches and owners know that winning is important for fans, value of the franchise, player morale and satisfaction, television contracts and endorsements, would a team really lose of purpose? Watching the Lions this season, I saw an awful team, but not a team that gave up or intentionally lost games. I found one Canadian blogger by the name of Ryan Bolta who argues that the NFL should have a draft lottery to discourage bad teams to "determine their own fate".

Bolta writes:

The Detroit Lions shouldn't have been awarded the number one pick without winning a lottery.

Despite owning the first 0-16 season in NFL history, the right to draft the best pro prospect shouldn't be a given right. It allows for bad teams to control their own destiny in a negative fashion. Any team eliminated from playoff contention knows the future is what's important. Nothing is stopping a bad team from investing in the future by losing games as the regular season comes to a close.

 

Have you ever followed players that have been drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, more importantly the Lions early picks? Did Mike Williams, Charles Rogers, and Joey Harrington help the Lions future in any way, shape, or form? The NFL draft is a crap shoot. The bad teams in the NFL do have control over their own destiny, but that doesn't mean they are making the best decisions or even choosing the best available players. Look at the Patriots draft choices. They continually pick late or near last in every round of the NFL draft, does this hurt them? No, they have gotten better players than those teams that get to "control their own destiny".

If it was up to the Detroit Lions, they would be fine with not selecting first in the NFL Draft. The first pick comes with uncertainties and a very high price tag.

Bolta also thinks that instituting a lottery would make the final weeks of the NFL season more interesting:

"The Lions need the help, but it really is time to put a system in place that adds chance to the equation when deciding the draft order. It would most definitely make for some more exciting football in the final weeks of the season."

"It would most definitely make for some more exciting football in the final weeks of the season." WHAT? So you are saying that the Lions would try harder the last two weeks if there was a lottery system? Nothing would change. The Lions had the #1 pick locked up at the end of the season....and they didn't play any better, nor were their last few games any more exciting.

The NFL draft format should stay the way it is. One of the beautiful things about the NFL is that teams can turn around their fortune in a single year (Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons). In the NBA we see the same teams dominate for long runs, which tend to drive support out of the cities that constantly have terrible teams. The Lions are bad enough with getting one of the top picks every year, let's not make it harder for teams like the Lions to build a decent team.

Sports Investments

The sports industry is a powerful medium in advertising and sponsorship. The more proficient a sports team is envisaged, in terms of stature, success and fan base, the higher the attraction for a company or organization to appear connected with that team. US football is a front-runner in the American sports industry and conjures a huge audience in the path to Superbowl glory. The Epoch Times Local reported in their June 17-23 2005 issue that ''Industry sources have said NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., has agreed to pay $600 million a year for 16 regular-season Sunday night NFL games and the annual Thursday season opener. The six-year NBC package also includes two playoff games and three prime-time preseason games each year, as well as the 2009 and 2012 Super Bowl championship contests. By comparison, ESPN is said to be paying the NFL $1.1 billion a year over eight years to take over the "Monday Night Football" package.''

This clearly emphasizes the importance and net worth of American Football, and the potential capacity for financial growth and development for a corporation, and its subsequent performance in the stock market, if it can be identified as an affiliate with a successful team or sport, irrespective of the mainstream nature of the business. The NFL has thirty-two teams, each with their own official corporate sponsors. To be associated with an individual football team is more prolific than sponsoring a league, as fans identify with their personal preferences. If you support American Football and you are keen to invest in the stock market, combine both and invest in the NFL. Personal speculation is your own investment in your team. It must be clearly accepted that investing in stocks and shares can result in both an increase and decrease in value, according to current trends within the marketplace and the state of the economy. Any investment can yield a dividend and an increase in net worth, but you can also experience a decrease in the overall value of your investment.

 

Three leading corporate sponsors within the NFL that are continuing to record promising results for investors are General Electric (GE), Anheuser-Busch (BUD) and Verizon Communications (VZ) - Stock ticker symbol in parenthesis, for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). General Electric is a multinational conglomerate which is experiencing a continued growth in earnings, and believes in investing in the future. They operate in growing markets and report a total return of $25.4 billion to shareholders, via stock buyback and dividend payments. For 32 consecutive years the company has increased the dividend payout per share. (GE.com 2008) Anheuser-Busch is America's leading brewery with over 100 brands, including Budweiser beer and Michelob lager. For five years the company has been ranked No1 according to Fortune Magazines list of US beverage companies. Share prices have risen steadily in the last ten years, from $24.375 (09.02.98) to the current price of $68.030 (09.02.08), and a dividend increase of 12.1 percent was recently announced. (Anheuser-Busch.com 2008) Verizon Communications provides broadband, television and telecommunication services. In July 2008, the company reported that they had experienced an earnings growth into double figures, its key areas witnessed sales gains, and they have a strong operating cash flow. Current share prices are $35.70 (09.03.08), and the 52 week range has seen shares prices fluctuate between $33.15 - $46.24.

Fantasy games

OK, I know this may be strange for many if not most of you, but some people don't know how fantasy sports work. I ran across a guy in my office just the other day, who is a huge sports fan, who was e mbarrassed when I asked him to join my fantasy football league because he didn't know how. If you can turn on a computer, you can play fantasy sports. The fist step is to get signed up with a site that provides fantasy sports, like Sportsline or ESPN. You go to one of these sites and go to the fantasy sports tab and pick a user name and a password, your ready to go. All sites with fantasy sports will have different categories which include different pay scales or free. Beginners should start out with free, it's less intimidating. You then join a league that suites your interest and follow the directions.

Now the fun begins, if you are a stats nut this is where you can really dig in and do some research on who you might want to pick in the draft. If your just playing for fun and know nothing about the sport you are playing just check out the research that is automatically given to you. There will be a draft, now you can enter a league with an auto draft or one with a live draft. The auto draft does it automatically, you don't even have to turn on your computer. The live draft requires you to actually enter a draft room and depending on the sport, go through several rounds actually picking players one at a time. The draft for most people is the funnest part, it's where your strategy for the season begins.

In the draft you have specific rules, which will be drawn out before the draft begins, and you follow the rules to pick certain positions and a specific number of starters and backup players. You pick players from all over the "real league" and those players from different teams make up your specific team. Take the NFL for example, you can draft Jay Cutler from the Broncos as your quarterback and Terrell Owens as your receiver from the Cowboys. It's a matter of taking the best players from different teams as soon in the draft as you can. The great thing about fantasy sports is there are thousands of different strategies to use.

So, for either the avid sports fan or the casual "I'll check the sports page once in a while" fantasy sports can be a fun way to get to know your favorite players better and get a little competition i n your life. The number one thing to remember is don't be intimidated, there is always going to be that Internet tough guy who will talk trash to you, just think of him or her as a 40 year old dork who lives with his/her mother. Just have fun with Russian singles