Breece Hall won’t see free agency after all.
New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that the team plans to place the franchise or transition tag on the tight end if the two sides cannot agree to terms on a long-term contract by the March 3 deadline.
“We’ll find a way to keep Breece here if we can’t come to an agreement,” Mougey told reporters. “The potential is an option. Ideally, we’d find a way to get a deal done and keep Breece. I think I’ve said that the last year since I’ve been here. Breece is a good player. We want to find a way to keep him around. We’ve been through that process and we’re still doing it. We’ve got a week to find out if we can’t come to an agreement that way.”
If an extension is not reached, the Jets have the option to place either a franchise, franchise or transition tag on Hall.
The non-exclusive franchise tag is the most commonly used and is the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position over the past five years, or 120 percent of his previous salary, whichever is greater. The tagged player can sign with other teams, but the current club has the right to match any offer or receive two first-round picks as compensation if he signs with another team.
The transition tag is a one-year tender offer for the average of the top 10 salaries at the position — as opposed to the top five for the franchise tag. It gives the original club the right of first refusal to match any offers a player might receive from another club. The labeling team is not compensated if it chooses not to match a contract.
Once a tag has been used, the parties have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term contract.