Michael Vick: Why the Philadelphia Eagles Franchised Him, and Why They Shouldn’t

February 16, 2011   ·   Thad Novak   ·   Jump to comments

The Philadelphia Eagles announced yesterday that they were placing the franchise tag on quarterback Michael Vick. Vick, who would’ve been an unrestricted free agent, will be guaranteed $23 million next season, and the Eagles retain exclusive rights to negotiate with him.

But with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the league and the players’ union expiring on March 3 and no end in sight to the acrimonious negotiations over a new one, the possibility of a lockout looms over the next NFL season. Will the labor strife negate the Eagles’ attempt to re-sign Vick? And even if they can, should they?
The provisions of the next CBA could render Philadelphia’s move largely moot; the franchise tag might not even exist under a new agreement. In that sense, yesterday’s move takes on the flavor of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But even if the franchise tag evaporates next season (whenever next season may be), the Eagles’ choic...

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