NFL Power Rankings: Franchised tagged players' contract edition

You can’t have a free agency period without knowing who’s available. On Tuesday, the NFL announced what players have been officially hit with the “franchise player” tag in preparation for next week’s free agency period for the 2023 season that will begin on Wednesday, March 15 at 4:00 pm EST.

This year’s crop included six non-exclusive franchise players, as no one was hit with the exclusive tag — exclusive players can’t negotiate terms with other teams, but non-exclusive ones can. The list includes Lamar Jackson, Tony Pollard, Evan Engram, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, and Daron Payne.

Since free agency is all about money, here’s a look at the six players ranked based on what their checks are supposed to look like this upcoming season.

The Cowboys tailback is set to make $10.09 million this season. He gained 1,500 yards of total offense between the regular season and playoffs and scored 12 touchdowns.

The Raiders running back is expected to take home the same amount as Pollard, as his franchise tag will also be paying him $10.091 million for the 2023 season. He accounted for 2,053 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022.

Stop me if you’ve read this before, but Barkley will also be bringing home $10.091 million in 2023. He’s coming off a monster year that included 1,426 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season and postseason, and over 400 receiving yards during that span.

The Jaguars’ tight end will be making just a notch above the three previous players on this list, as he’s expected to make $11.345 million in 2023. Engram caught 85 balls during the regular season and playoffs for a total of 890 yards and five touchdowns.

The big man will be cashing a big check this year as he’s set to make $18.937 million in 2023. He accounted for 32 solo tackles and 11.5 sacks last season.

Although he only played 12 games last season, Jackson is the biggest name on this list as we still don’t know for certain what jersey he’ll be wearing next season. As of now, he’s on the books to receive $32 million. In an abbreviated year, he accounted for 3,006 yards of total offense and 20 touchdowns.