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Contract Negotiation NFL Players NFL Teams

NFL Transition Tags

He is now the poster-boy for 2 posts

Like an NFL Franchise Tag, an NFL Transition Tag may be used on one player per team each year. Also, the tag may be used on either a restricted or unrestricted free agent.

In the last year of each Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team may choose to place a Transition Tag on 2 players (in addition to using a Franchise Tag).

So where does the Transition Tag differ from the Franchise Tag?

A Transition Tag allows the former team to match the highest offer presented by another interested team. This is considered the “Rights of First Refusal.” Our example of Steve Hutchinson was labeled with a Transition Tag, but also was involved with the Poison Pill technique.

If a player is labeled as a Transition player, he must receive a one-year deal worth the average of the 10 top paid players in his position for the previous year or a one-year deal valued at 120% of his previous year’s salary (whichever option accrues more money). With the use of a Franchise Tag, a player receives the average of the top 5 players in such a position. This makes it evident that using a Transition Tag may create less of a burden on a team’s salary cap.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.