The annual two-week period for applying the franchise tag begins this Tuesday, and this year, it appears that no players may receive the designation.

The top two contenders for the tag, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and a potential replacement, are both unlikely to be tagged. Higgins, who was tagged in 2024 for a hefty $21.8 million, would see his salary jump by 20% to approximately $26.18 million in 2025—a fully guaranteed one-year contract with the same cap hit.

Historically, the Bengals have never used the franchise tag on a player for more than one season. In fact, every player tagged by the organization has left the team after the tagged year.

Only once has a Bengals player secured a long-term contract after being tagged; that was in 1999 when wideout Carl Pickens signed a five-year deal instead of playing under the franchise tag, but he was cut just a year later.

The more plausible scenario for Higgins is the negotiation of a long-term contract, especially considering that fellow receiver Ja’Marr Chase seeks a deal potentially exceeding $40 million per year.

Discussions emerged late in the regular season regarding the Vikings potentially tagging quarterback Sam Darnold. However, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell mentioned during a Super Bowl-week appearance on PFT Live that Darnold has “earned the right to become a free agent,” indicating that the team is unlikely to franchise tag him at about $40 million for another year.

Aside from Higgins and Darnold, there do not appear to be any standout candidates for the franchise tag. According to a team-by-team evaluation by ESPN analysts, it’s feasible that no player will be tagged this offseason.

An entire offseason without franchise tags would be unusual but not unheard of. As reported by Spotrac.com, the only previous instance of a league-wide no-tag season occurred in 1996.