The Franchise Tag

Pro Football Weekly has come out with a list of all the players who will be contractually bound to their teams next season as the result of being designated as franchise players.

All three of them.

According to the article teams have until February 21, 2008 to designate a potential free agent as an "exclusive" free agent -- thereby purchasing their services for one season "by committing to a minimum offer of the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of the end of the restricted free-agent signing period on April 20, or a 20 percent increase over his 2007 salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season — whichever of the three is greater."