As a long-term contract has not been agreed between two sides, the San Francisco 49ers decided to place franchise tag on nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin first to keep him in 49ers jersey. The non-exclusive franchise tag will still allow Franklin to negotiate with other teams after the March 5 deadline of free agency.
“Aubrayo has proven to be a valuable contributor to our defense and we are looking forward to having him on our team going forward,” general manager Scot McCloughan said. “Although a contract extension has not been completed at this time, we will continue to have discussions with Aubrayo and his agent.”
The non-exclusive franchise tag also allows the 49ers to match any offer or receive two first-round picks as compensation for losing Franklin if he was signed away by another team. But it appears unlikely that 49ers will use such a right as the team still wants to retain Franklin with a long-term contract.
As one of the top nose tackles in the league last season with 36 tackles, two sacks and an interception, 29-year-old Franklin has recorded 291 tackles, four sacks, one interception and three forced fumbles in his seven-year career. He could earn just more than $7 million next season with the tag, and the 49ers do have reasons to worry about the process of contract negotiation: Franklin would have been one of the most coveted free agents if without franchise tag and quite a few teams would be willing to offer him good deal.
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