"Franchise Tag," or "Really Good Kicker Tag?"

A perennial NFL story line at this time of year is the speculation about which players will be tagged as "Franchise" players, and the attendant kerfuffle over the designation of certain players by position. Most recently, it was Baltimore defender Terrell Suggs, nominally a linebacker, who felt he was due the higher salary associated with defensive ends. This year, it is (will be?) New Orleans player Jimmy Graham, nominally a tight end, who may file a grievance to receive the higher salary associated with wide receivers. The crux of both players' arguments is that they spend a greater proportion of their playing time lined up on the field in a manner more closely associated with the higher-salaried positions. The designated salary for Franchise players each year is determined by the top-end of the salaries at the tagged player's position.

Since the spirit of the Franchise designation is to avoid the loss of players regarded as essential to the franchise (team), it seems rather ridiculous that the salary of such a player should be dependent on his position. On most teams, the most essential player is the quarterback, a running back, or maybe a key defender. Regardless, if a player is deemed to be essential to the health of the team, it shouldn't matter what his position is. Because of this weird quirk in the structure of the rule, recent years have seen kickers, punters, guards, backup quarterbacks, and countless forgettable players of all positions designated as their team's "Franchise" player. The most absurd instance of this phenomenon came in 2012, when six punters or kickers were tagged. Is it possible that a specialist was the best player on six different teams?

If this is the spirit of the designation, then the best solution to these fights over a player's position is to restructure the Franchise designation to pay the designated player an average of the top salaries in the league, regardless of position. I'm not certain the number of top salaries to include, but 32 is not a bad place to start the discussion, as there are 32 teams in the league. A smaller number would make the salary higher, obviously, and may be better. That is a detail that can be worked out; getting the concept right is the important part.