NFL Franchise Tag Numbers: 2013 Free Agency Arrives With Solid Salary Figures For Each Position, How Do Tags Affect Dallas’ Tony Romo, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco Contracts?

flacco — Joe Flacco and his Super Bowl MVP may have earned him one of the top salaries in the NFL. Reuters

The new NFL calendar year and free agency will begin on Mar. 12, and with that should come a number of anticipated and hotly debated signings.

Now free agents and their representation have clear figures to start their negotiations.

According to NFL.com’s Albert Breer via his Twitter, the franchise tag salaries have been set for the 2013 season.

Two players and teams to watch are the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys. Both have to work around a very tight salary cap situation as they try to keep their franchise players.

Dallas is already working on an extension for quarterback Tony Romo, who is set to make $16.8 million in 2013. That is about $2 million more than the $14.896 million franchise tag for next season. The Cowboys are reportedly hoping to bring Romo’s salary down next season, much like they did with linebacker DeMarcus Ware Thursday.

Unlike the Cowboys, Baltimore did not extend Flacco during the final year of his contract, but have said they intend to keep the Super Bowl MVP in purple and black for his entire career. Many reports suggest Flacco wants to be amongst the top paid quarterbacks in the league like Tom Brady and Drew Brees, nearing a $18-20 million salary.

The below figures list non-exclusive and transition tags. Non-exclusive players must be tendered a one-year deal no less than the listed amount for their position, which is determined by the average of the top five salaries at their position.

The transition tag is created by averaging the top 10 salaries at one position.

Franchise

QB: $14.896.M

RB: $8.219M

WR: $10.537M

TE: $6.066M

OL: $9.828M

DT: $8.45M

DE: $11.175M

LB: $9.619M

CB: $10.854M

S: $6.916M