[Preds]

I cut and pasted this from the Philadelphia Freedom's post in another thread... just thought it'd be good to keep these discussions seperate and distinct.

posted by the Philadelphia Freedom in THIS thread

Here is a link to that proposal (though it was voted down before). http://vbb.predatorsfootball.com/sh...=&threadid=1873

Here is the jist of it:

I am wondering if it might be possible to discuss some sort of Franchise Tag that could be used? I am not dead sure how it would work, but maybe like the tender offers it would be the option to offer a deal to a player (one per team, can't have more than two at one time) once his contract expires (but before the RFA begins). Here is my first stab at how this could work:

The greater of 1.2 times last years salary or $1,200 for a QB, $1,500 for a RB, $1,100 for a WR, $550 for a TE and $450 for a K . I am not sure how many teams would take advantage of this but it might make for another interesting option, especially since a lot of guys were signed to deals before we made all of these changes. Some teams might figure that the cost is too high but for a lot of young guys that were signed for like $100 this presents them with the option of resigning one of their own players. This could work well since we have increased the contract years and cap space anyway.

The other twist that may be worth thinking about, again not trying to make the management end anymore complicated, but maybe these guys salaries also increase by 20% instead of 10% and the tag cannot be used on the same player more than once with the same team.

For example Corey Dillon currently had a one year deal for $1,772. If the Predators wanted to "Franchise" him he would get a 2003 deal for $2,126 since it would be higher than $1,500. Using the 20% escalator his 2004 salary would be $2,552 and his 2005 salary would be $3,062. This would offer the option of signing him before he hits the market but there is a price to pay for utilizing this option.

Another example would be Duece McCallister who had a one year deal for $110 in 2002. If the Freedom want to "Franchise" him he would get $1,500 in 2003 since it would be much higher than the 20% increase. Using the 20% escalator his 2004 salary would be $1,800 and his 2005 salary would be $2,160. Again, it is not a cheap option but it would allow teams to retain one of their own. In some cases the player may not be worth it and the team would not want to use option however with the possibility of more years and cap space this would allow teams to retain talent.

Sorry, I am kind of thinking on the fly, but it might add another dimension to the decision making process. Please feel free to post your thoughts.

I think this would be a good time to add this option as the increased cap hit also would play into the strategy involved.