Trading the "rights" to players

[Jared A]

The original team needs to tag them first, correct? Or, can we trade players that are UFA's prior to using a tag?

[Onyxgem]

Good question, i think we should be able to trade the rights adn then if that team wants to franchise them or what not they can.

[Ben C.]

Good question, i think we should be able to trade the rights adn then if that team wants to franchise them or what not they can.

I adamantly disagree with this. This never happens in the NFL. You must be tagged before being traded. Technically the original team has no legal right that they can trade to another team until they have placed a tag on the player.

[Jared A]

I can see both sides.... and just wanted everything clarified.


Can a team transition tag a player, and then trade him, and the new team switch the transition to "their" franchise tag?

[Goodell]

An unrestricted free agent can't be traded. The power goes to the player when he's a free agent. He's no longer under any contract with that team. The team has no control over an unrestricted free agent. They are no longer under any contract with any team. No team controls where they go or owns their rights to be traded. They are unrestricted free agents testing the market.

If a player is restricted (either RFA or tagged) they get their 2010 salary filled in at the tender amount designated. The team has matching rights over the player. That player is no longer unrestricted. The home team controls whether or not they'll let the player leave because they have matching rights over him.

As it's been here (and I believe also in reality we try to mirror), teams can trade the "rights" to a player if the player is restricted or tagged, but teams have no rights to unrestricted players and can't trade UFAs.

[Jared A]

Ok...

The Packers trade a transition tagged player to the Colts. The Colts have not used their Franchise tag yet... are the Colts allowed to change the trag from transition to franchise? (since they now control the player's rights)

[Goodell]

Ok...

The Packers trade a transition tagged player to the Colts. The Colts have not used their Franchise tag yet... are the Colts allowed to change the trag from transition to franchise? (since they now control the player's rights)

I'm willing to listen to arguements for that and if research provided of that happening in reality. By default, we try to side with NFL reality in situations that haven't been covered. I would think that wouldn't be something that happens in reality so wouldn't happen here by default unless we specifically set a rule for it to happen.

That could really be abused to where a team might have 3 player they want to franchise tag so they put two on transition, trade their rights, have another team franchise them, and then trade the rights back so they can have 3 franchise players getting around the 1 franchise tag rules. Also because the original team is the only one that can place a tag on their UFAs only, I wouldn't think that tag would be something that could be changed around by a different team that they've never played for.

We do unlimited bidding for your own UFAs in part because we don't have contract extensions and don't have player free will, but there is some real elements to that also in that if you have an existing relationship with a player whose been on your team and worked with your coaches and lives in your city that there are real advantages in that when trying to have them re-sign with you and that they usually only go elsewhere if the home team not willing to pay what another team would be or provide as much opportunity. So extending that relationship and home team advantage to a team he's never played for wouldn't make sense logically with why we do that for home team advantages for UFAs.

So I would think that would be the default position where only the original team can place a tag and it can't be changed by another team, and we would look further into that and examine if it happens in reality but I would think that it wouldn't be happening that I could recall.

In the end, I really hope teams begin to realize more the great advantages they have for their own UFAs that essentially amounts to something like matching rights (with unlimited bids) without having to place a huge top 5 salary on it to where we eventually get less tagging (like the NFL) and more teams making financial decisions in the market while using their bidding advantage for their own UFAs.

[Royce R]

I would have to go against being able to switch tags or trading untagged players.

I just don't think they has ever or will ever happen.

[dinkatoid]

In reality I know you can make a condition where you trade a rfa and let them come up with a deal with the new team before the trade goes through, but that is not exactly a possibility in this game, so I would have to say it is just not worth it.

[Dustin S.]

ya, i dont understand why people were trying to trade players becoming ufa. it didnt make any sense, bc it has never been done in the nfl, and i doubt it ever will be. you can tag someone, but then someone needs to make an offer to take that player, and we have a new rule, dont we, where we have to disclose if we would accept less for a player

so if u tag someone as a franchise only to trade him for a second round pick, dont u need to allow everyone else to know ur gonna take less? so everyone has a fair right to go after that player, otherwise, if hes a ufa, hes free to bid on