Franchise tag values set while Eagles negotiate with Sam Bradford

The franchise tag for a quarterback has been set at $19.953 million and the transition tag for a quarterback has been set at $17.696 million, the NFL Players' Association announced Monday.

That's how much it would cost the Eagles to keep Sam Bradford in Philadelphia without reaching a new contract. Those values, and the burden they would have on the Eagles' cap space, are why a new contract would be the better bet to keep Bradford in Philadelphia than using one of the tags.

Teams have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to designate players with the franchise or transition tag.

"We haven't made any final decision on any negotiation with anyone. For us, we're keeping all of our options open," Howie Roseman said last week about using the tag. "Obviously, our cap space becomes a factor into everything that we do. ... For us, we've got to build the team. We've got to add players, and we'd like to add more than one player this offseason."

The Eagles have been in negotiations with Bradford's agent, Tom Condon, with whom they met at the combine in Indianapolis last week. A multi-year deal is expected to come at an annual value less than those of the tags, and it would also carry less salary-cap burden because the bonus money can be spread out. If the Eagles placed a tag on Bradford, they'd have a cap hold at that number – either $19.953 million or $17.696 million – and it would swallow more than half of their salary-cap space. It would all but sideline the Eagles in free agency, unless they released other players or adjusted salaries.

If the Eagles don't use their tags on Tuesday, they will have seven days before Bradford can negotiate with other teams during the legal tampering period. This is the sweet spot to reach a deal. After the combine, most teams and agents have a sense of the marketplace. After the tag deadline, there is no mechanism in place to keep Bradford in Philadelphia other than reaching a new contract.

Although the Eagles could sign Bradford to a deal after free agency begins, that could be more difficult because it would affect the Eagles' free-agent plans. They would need to conserve space without knowing if Bradford is going to stay, which would limit what they can spend elsewhere. They also could be behind on a Plan B – whether it's signing a backup quarterback such as Chase Daniel or trading for a quarterback from another team.