Pittsburgh Steelers star Cam Heyward hates the NFL's franchise tag.
Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Cam Heyward hates the NFL's franchise tag.
"Stupid," Heyward said, via ESPN. "It hampers players. Why should any team be able to take advantage of a player for one year? It's used in negotiations, and I think between the player options, the franchise tags, the way they control rookies, I think it's kind of backwards."
In the current NFL system, teams can use the franchise tag to keep their best players from hitting free agency.
Teams can use one of three options -- nonexclusive tag, exclusive tag or transition tag -- to give players a one-year tender as their current deal expires.
With the franchise tag, the player and team have until mid-July to work out a long-term deal; otherwise, the player will play on the one-year tag unless he holds out.
The value varies based on the position and type of tag. The franchise tag figures are based on the top five salaries at each position, while the transition tag figure is determined by the top 10.
"If a player is at the top of his position, he should be paid that way," Heyward said.
Heyward, who is an NFLPA executive committee member, hopes the Steelers and CB Joey Porter Jr. can agree to a deal soon.
"We truly want everybody to just be able to maximize what they can do and their potential," Heyward said. "We understand this game isn't for long and every player has to do that. That's just a fact. If you didn't, you'd be a shame on you. You'd be not taking advantage of the opportunity you can, but I wish it would get done earlier. I wish everything was done in February if we could."
Porter Jr. has a base salary of $3,924,000 and a cap hit of $4,922,790 this season. If the Steelers don't sign Porter Jr. to an extension, the talented defender will hit free agency next season.
Porter acknowledged that his contract negotiation process has been difficult. The Steelers open the 2026 season against the Atlanta Falcons.
"It's been tough, not going to lie," Porter Jr. said. "It's my first go around [with] this, but I mean, it's been also great because I have all my guys with me, all the coaches and players really are on my side, really understand everything about the business side of things. ... But at the end of the day, it is what it is."
