The 2025 DFL season is officially underway as the new league year kicked off on June 1 with salaries paid and franchise tags locked in.
There were 14 franchise tags handed out with only two of them being EFTs, which means there will be a good deal of talented players hitting the open market looking to get paid.
Let’s take a look at who received the guaranteed lucrative paychecks.
Exclusive Franchise Tags (2)
Saquon Barkley, RB/PHI — Colombia ($11.4): Barkley received a boost to his career this past season and shows no real signs of slowing down. The EFT tag keeps him in Colombia for another season at a very good deal.
Lamar Jackson, QB/BAL — Greece ($13.1): One of the league’s most dynamic quarterbacks will play on another one-year deal. It is his second consecutive EFT, the most allowed by league rules, which means he’ll be playing for a bigger, long-term deal next season.
Non-exclusive Franchise Tags (8)
Jonathan Taylor, RB/IND — Australia ($10.2): Taylor’s journey with the Blue Heelers continues, although he’s come a long way since being the league’s highest-paid player in the inaugural season of 2022. He still has some gas left in the tank but likely won’t command the top dollar anymore.
Derrick Henry, RB/BAL — Kazakhstan ($10.2): Henry just doesn’t seem to slow down. Father Time is undefeated, but Henry the machine keeps churning out productive seasons. I’ll be curious to see what Henry’s price tag soars to in the NFT Auction and how much owners are willing to bet he staves off old age for another year.
Christian McCaffrey, RB/SF — Greece ($10.2): By now, we know the drill. When healthy, McCaffrey is one of the most explosive players in the entire league. But he’s been unhealthy in three of the past five seasons. So, we’ll see how much owners are willing to pony up for the valuable, but damaged goods.
Pat Freiermuth, TE/PIT — Italy ($6.7): For now, he’s one of the only options in a Steelers’ passing offense perhaps waiting for a quarterback upgrade. With a lot of tight ends off the board and teams constantly seeking stability at the position, Italy fills the depth.
Jalen Hurts, QB/PHI — Peru ($8.5): Fresh off an NFL championship, Hurts will be entering the 2025 season with a lot of momentum and looking to get paid a hefty salary. Will his price tag shoot up in the NFT Auction?
Josh Allen, QB/BUF — Colombia ($8.5): After an NFL MVP season, and after switching teams last DFL season, Allen is now looking to get paid and perhaps secure a long-term contract if the price tag is reasonable. But, probably not.
Kyler Murray, QB/ARI — Saint Kitts & Nevis ($8.5): A hometown favorite in Saint Kitts, Murray receives the NFT and will be looking to take another step forward in 2025.
Travis Kelce, TE/KC — Sint Maarten ($6.7): He may not be the No. 1 tight end overall anymore after that incredible string of consecutive seasons he put together. But even at his age, he’ll put together a TE1-range season. The only question will be how high are team’s willing to bid on him?
Transition Tags (4)
A.J. Brown, WR/PHI — Kazakhstan ($12.0): Brown did not finish in his usual range last season after he missed a handful of games. But he’s still explosive and offers an offense a ton of upside and likely will receive a little action in the Auction.
Josh Jacobs, RB/GB — Greece ($8.5): Jacobs had an unbelievable resurgence last season and earned his paycheck. While the big question will be can he actually reproduce those high numbers in 2025, he’ll still be a valuable piece in the running back room to whichever team lands him.
Alvin Kamara, RB/NO — Peru ($8.5): He’s old, but he ain’t dead yet. For a team that will be starting over at quarterback in 2025, likely will be playing from behind a lot, Kamara could continue to be the target of a lot of passes.
Joe Mixon, RB/HOU — Colombia ($8.5): Mixon and the Texans had a down year last season but should rebound accordingly in 2025. Mixon was an RB1 in 2023 and an RB2 last year. Even if he’s closer to the latter this coming season, his opening bid is good value. How high will it go, though?