Caleb Williams asked not to have franchise tag on rookie contract; Bears declined

As the Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams negotiate the remaining language in his rookie deal, there’s one clause that definitely won’t be added.

According to multiple sources, Williams asked the Bears to agree not to use the franchise tag when his rookie contract expired. The Bears refused.

Although many veteran players have earned such a commitment (for exampleNo rookie has ever managed to get a promise that he wouldn’t be tagged. Williams certainly had the ability to deliver.

The best time to use this feature was before a rookie draft. Before the rookie salary scale was adopted in 2011, teams with the first pick would typically negotiate with multiple players before drafting rookies, hoping to lure one of them to terms. Today, with the best prospects bringing bank accounts full of cash to the NFL, someone like Williams, for example, might say, “Drop the franchise tag or I won’t play for you.” If you draft me, I’ll sit out the entire season and come back to draft the next year.

It’s a sensitive PR move, given that fans are fine with the wash, and the media do players little favors when it comes to appointing black hats. Williams didn’t try. In the end, he didn’t get one of the terms he wanted.

If that were the case, it would have created a precedent that could have benefited a large number of players selected in the first round in the future.

That’s good news for the NFL. If no-option clauses become commonplace, teams will keep them for five years at most, with no way to prevent the market from determining their value starting in year six.