Who will the Vikings use the franchise tag on in 2025?
Free agency and tags explained

With the 2024 season in the books, eyes around the NFL are now turning to building rosters for 2025. The Vikings have 26 players from their 2024 roster who remain unsigned going into the new league year, which begins on March 12th.

What is the franchise tag?

Teams can negotiate new deals with the players scheduled to leave, or until March 4th, they can tag them to return on a one-year deal at a rate determined by their position. They can either use the franchise tag or the transition tag, but only one of those can be used by a team in any particular year.

The transition tag allows the player to negotiate with other teams, but gives his current team the right to match the other team’s offer. On the franchise tag, if the player rejects the offer, they can’t negotiate a deal with any other team for the remainder of the year.

How is the franchise tag salary worked out?

The salaries for each tag are calculated based on an average of the highest-paid players at each position the previous season. For the franchise tag, it’s the average of the top five and for the transition tag, it’s the top ten. That means the tagged player makes quite a dent in the team’s salary cap, but it essentially guarantees he remains with the team for another year.

The Vikings have only tagged three players since the practice was introduced in 1993 – tight end Jim Kleinsasser in 2003, linebacker Chad Greenway in 2011 and safety Anthony Harris in 2020. Here are the top candidates to add to that list in 2025 when the window opens on February 18th.

QB Sam Darnold

Darnold was an unexpected standout for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, and his performances led to a first career Pro Bowl appearance at the end of the season. With a plethora of teams in need of a quarterback in 2025, Darnold will prove an attractive option, even on a richer contract than the $10 million Minnesota paid him this year. However, the Vikings have their own issues at the position, with uncertainty still surrounding the status of first-round draft pick J. J. McCarthy, who spent the entire season on injured reserve with a torn meniscus.

The plan last year was to have Darnold as McCarthy’s security blanket, starting the season until McCarthy was ready to take over the reins. That could still be the plan for 2025, although Darnold’s services would cost significantly more. If the team can’t agree a multi-year deal with the signal-caller and instead choose to use the franchise tag, it’ll set them back around $41.3 million; using the transition tag would be only marginally cheaper at $35.3 million.

S Cam Bynum

Earning just over $3 million in 2024, Bynum is another player who performed well beyond his pay grade last season. Although his celebrations got him the most attention, he also made an impact in the stats sheet, recording three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. With Harrison Smith considering retirement, the Vikings will be keen to avoid further losses from their safety corps and bring Bynum back to continue his partnership with Josh Metellus in the defensive backfield.

Using the transition tag on Bynum – a more likely option than the franchise tag – would cost the Vikings just under $15.6 million in 2025. That’s more than Bynum’s estimated market value, and the two parties are reportedly getting closer to reaching a long-term extension, but with other teams sniffing around, the Vikings might want to remove all doubt and guarantee Bynum remains in the building for at least another year by using the tag.

CB Byron Murphy

The team’s interception leader in 2024, with only two players ahead of him in the entire league, Byron Murphy is another member of their secondary the Vikings won’t want to lose in 2025. He was already the highest paid of the cornerbacks they’re set to lose in free agency, a list that also includes Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin, and the way his contract is structured, he’ll cost the Vikings $4.2 million in dead money in 2025 whether he’s on the roster or not.

Slapping the franchise tag on Murphy would add another $20.4 million to the wage bill, whereas the transition tag would only cost $17.2 million. There are other options at the position available in free agency, and those figures would represent a big jump in Murphy’s salary. The Vikings might view him as a player they can’t afford to lose, but they might be better off trying to negotiate a longer-term deal at a lower yearly salary.

RB Aaron Jones

Jones was on a one-year contract worth $7 million in 2024, although much of that was spread over the next few years as void money. On Saturday, they agreed to move the void date on his contract from February 17th to March 11th, thus avoiding taking on $3.2 million in dead money for almost another month. That will give them some leeway in negotiating a new deal on a player who proved a massive upgrade over Alexander Mattison at running back; he rushed for over 1,100 yards in 2024, enough for ninth place in the league.

If they fail to come to an agreement by March 4th, the Vikings could choose to tag Jones. The franchise tag would be worth $13.6 million, whereas the transition tag would be worth a much more manageable $10.8 million. However, at those figures, it’s more likely that the two parties will come to an agreement on a multi-year deal or agree to part ways.

Who do you think the Vikings should use the franchise tag on this year? Should they use it at all? Let us know via email at UKVikingsFanClub@gmail.com or get in touch via any of our social media channels.