The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday that they would be placing their franchise tag on Dwayne Bowe. The team was unable to come to terms on a contract extension prior to the franchise tag deadline and they were not about to lose their key offensive component from 2011.
Adam Tiecher of McCarthy Newspapers explains what happens next with Bowe and the Chiefs.
As part of the transaction, the Chiefs offered Bowe a one-year contract worth about $9.5 million. Bowe can sign the contract at any time or the sides could negotiate a long-term contract.
Even if neither of those things happen, the franchise tag effectively keeps Bowe off the free-agent market. Starting next Tuesday he will be free to negotiate and sign a contract with another team. But the Chiefs would have the right to match the offer and retain Bowe. If they decline to match, the Chiefs would lose Bowe but receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.
That's steep compensation and will probably keep other teams from signing Bowe to an offer sheet.
Given that the Chiefs are hoping for a rebuilding year in 2012, it seems like a wise move on their part. Bowe almost certainly would have bolted had Kansas City not placed the tag on him. This keeps the team from having to fill a gap at wide receiver in addition to the other positions they will need to shore up before the season kicks off in the fall.
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