The cost of franchising a WR is keeping teams from committing to good players

When the franchise tag deadline came Tuesday, the biggest surprises were the players who didn’t receive the tag rather than the few who did. Among those who are less than a week from becoming a free agent are wide receivers Allen Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Sammy Watkins of the Los Angeles Rams.

The only receiver to get the tag was Jarvis Landry of the Miami Dolphins, but that was little more than a tactic to facilitate a trade.

There were perfectly sound reasons for the Jaguars, Rams and Dolphins to shy away from diving into long-term, pricy deals with each receiver. Robinson tore his ACL in 2017, Watkins caught just 39 passes, and Landry predominantly lines up in the slot, which negatively affects his value.

If the franchise tag was a more affordable price, all three of those receivers likely wouldn’t be going anywhere. But at $15.982 million, the cost of franchise tagging a receiver is chasing teams away.

That number was much more affordable just a few years ago, but launched through the roof when several pass catchers cashed in big in 2015.

Both Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas received the franchise tag in 2015 when it was valued at $12.8 million. Hours before the July deadline for a multi-year deal, Bryant and Thomas got nearly identical five-year, $70 million extensions.

In the next couple months, Julio Jones received a five-year, $71.25 million extension and A.J. Green signed a four-year, $60 million extension.

Nearly three years later, those deals are still among the highest-paying deals for wide receivers. Only eight contracts at the position average at least $14 million per year and four were signed in 2015.

But the windfall of money for receivers that offseason launched the franchise tag price from $12.8 million to $14.599 million in 2016. The more than 14.1 percent increase is the second biggest jump for a position in the last three years, behind only a 22.2 percent increase for defensive tackles between 2015 and 2016 — thanks mostly to Ndamukong Suh.

It ultimately set the price for the franchise tag at a place few receivers are actually worth. Especially after another jump of more than $1 million between 2016 and 2017.

In the last three years, larger percentages of teams’ salary cap spending has been allocated to keeping quarterbacks. Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers became the highest-paid player in NFL history in February, taking the title from Matthew Stafford who took it from Derek Carr who took it from Andrew Luck and so on and so forth.

But wide receiver contracts haven’t kept up because there just haven’t been many players with the ability and production to warrant a huge pay day like Bryant, Thomas, Jones and Green all did in 2015.

In 2017, Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins received the first two contracts for wide receivers to eclipse an average of $16 million per season.

The second tier of wide receiver contracts has paid players such as T.Y. Hilton, Alshon Jeffery and Doug Baldwin between $11-13 million per year. It’s a group consisting of productive, No. 1 receivers that are worth paying, but aren’t quiet among the elite, upper echelon group at the position.

The concerns surrounding Robinson, Watkins and Landry put them in that group.

At other positions — like defensive end and cornerback — the franchise tag has been a worthwhile option to keep second-tier players. At receiver, the pay gap has scared teams away.

On Friday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers committed to Mike Evans in a big way with a five-year, $82.5 million deal. It’s the second-highest contract for a wide receiver behind only Brown.

With Odell Beckham Jr. among the other young receivers approaching the end of their rookie contracts, the franchise tag may soon be a reasonable option again to keep wide receivers. But for now, that number is still higher than the Jaguars, Rams or Dolphins were willing to commit to the position.