The New York Giants used their franchise tag on defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, the team officially announced. Pierre-Paul is coming off an impressive season, but hasn't yet received a big deal due to the inconsistencies over the course of his rookie contract. He's had two really great years, separated by a few down seasons in which he was essentially invisible.
Giants use the franchise tag on Jason Pierre-Paul
Jason Pierre-Paul may have to play the 2015 season under the franchise tag, unless the Giants get him signed to a long-term contract.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Unless the two sides work out a long-term deal before applying the tag or by the July deadline if they do tag Pierre-Paul, the tag ties him to the Giants for one season and a fully guaranteed salary. Said tag pays the player the average of the top five players at his position or 120 percent of his previous year’s salary, whichever is higher. The franchise tag for a defensive end is around $15 million.
That’s a hefty price tag for anybody, but is Pierre-Paul worth it? He finished the 2014 season with 12.5 sacks, and at 26 years old, his best football could certainly be ahead of him at this point. The problem is that there’s a lot of risk in giving him the kind of money that would likely need to come in a long-term contract.
Maybe the Giants would be overpaying him to some extent with this franchise tag, but it might pay off in the end if they get more time to evaluate him and learn that he is or is not worth that big contract.
After tagging JPP, the Giants will have until July 15 to get Pierre-Paul signed to a long-term contract if that is their ultimate goal this offseason. After that date, he’ll have to play under the franchise tag or not at all in 2015. The team can either use the exclusive rights franchise tag, which means he can’t negotiate with other teams, or the non-exclusive rights tag, which means he can negotiate with other teams, but that team would ultimately have to give up a pair of first-round draft picks to sign Pierre-Paul away.
If Pierre-Paul does sign a long-term deal, it's unclear what kind of money he would be looking at. Mario Williams makes an average of $16 million per year, while Chris Long, Trent Cole and Charles Johnson are in the $12 million per year range. Pierre-Paul would likely be looking for something north of that, but whether he makes it to the next three -- Greg Hardy ($13 million per year), Robert Quinn ($14 million per year) and Williams -- is anybody's guess.
See More:
