Tag, You're It!

This afternoon the Seattle Seahawks informed their All-Pro left guard that they're placing the "transition" tag on him. The moves comes as somewhat of a surprise, as many people expected the Seahawks to designate Hutchinson as their "Franchise" player.

The differences between the two are:

1. Money. The "Franchise" tag comes with a 1-year, guaranteed contract equal to the average of the Top 5 salaries at that position. The "Transition" tag is a 1-year guaranteed contract equal to the average of the Top 10 salaries at that position.

2. Compensation. The "Franchise" tag deters other teams from negotiating with the player, as signing a player with that tag requires you to fork over two 1st round picks to the other team. Under the "Transition" tag rules, no compensation is awarded if the player signs elsewhere.

This is definitely a calculated risk that the Seahawks are taking. Seattle will undoubtedly match any offer that Hutchinson receives on the open market, as they have ample cap room and internally, signing Hutchinson to a long-term contract has always been the team's #1 priority for this off-season.

In the short term, they're on the hook to pay Hutchinson the terms of his transition status ($6.391M for 1 year) and by not using the franchise tag, they're saving $592,000 in cap room.

Other "Tagged" Players

Franchise
DE John Abraham, NY Jets ($8.332M)
OG Jeff Backus, Detroit ($6.983M)
CB Nate Clements, Buffalo ($5.893M)

Transition
CB Brian Williams, Minnesota ($4.774M)