Steelers' Max Starks Detailed How He Was Franchise Tagged Twice To Prevent Cardinals From Stealing Him

The Pittsburgh Steelers likely don't have any candidates in the 2024 offseason that will get a franchise tag or a transition tag, but it has been a tool the team has used in the past to try to retain players. The most notable use of tags by the organization in recent history was the back-to-back usage of the franchise tag on running back Le'Veon Bell. He played out the 2017 year under the tag, but infamously refused to sign it in 2018, missing the whole season and then became a free agent in 2019. Former offensive lineman, Max Starks was also tagged twice by the team and recently shared on Steelers Nation Radio how it stopped him from reuniting with some of his former coaches. 

After Mike Tomlin was named head coach of the Steelers in 2007, Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and Offensive Line Coach Russ Grimm, who were both in the running to get the job, left to join the Arizona Cardinals. The two teams then met in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2008 season. 

Before the 2008 season, Starks was coming off a one-year extension he had signed following the end of his three-year rookie deal and the team opted to put the transition tag on him. This meant that Pittsburgh could match any offer on Starks by other franchises. Starks said that the Arizona Cardinals showed interest, but weren't about to send an offer for it to be matched. He ended up signing the tag in April for a one-year deal worth $6.895 million.   

"I know the Cardinals wanted me because that was when Wiz [Ken Whisenhunt], Russ [Grimm], and them went down there," he said. "They're like, 'Yeah, we want to get you,' and then I got tagged at the last minute and they said, 'We'll wait a year till you're a real free agent because you're not getting tagged twice.' Wrong."

The Steelers opted to use the franchise tag on Starks in the 2009 offseason, which dashed any hopes of a reunion with his coaches down in Arizona. Instead of playing on the franchise tag and earning either the average of the top five NFL salaries at his position from 2008 or 120 percent of his prior year's (2008) salary, he opted to sign an extension with the team. In June 2009, it was announced that the two sides had agreed to a $26.3 million, four-year contract with $10 million guaranteed.  

Steelers Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert told the Associated Press at the time that the team had wanted to get a longer-term extension done when they had placed the transition tag on him, but it never materialized. He explained that it might've seemed weird at the time to place the tag on a backup, but Starks rose into the starting lineup in 2008 and was an important anchor on the offensive line in the playoffs.   

Steelers' Starks Explains Some Of The Cons Of Being Tagged

The tags are an essential business tool for NFL teams to either be able to retain their talent or to get ample compensation back. When the Steelers put the franchise tag on Starks in 2008, they would've recouped a pair of first-round picks from the team that signed him as he was a non-exclusive tag. The exclusive tag means that other teams can't submit offers, but does cost more than the non-exclusive. The transition tag doesn't offer any compensation, but gives teams a right of refusal. 

Starks was able to negotiate a deal so that he didn't have to play on two tags, but said there was one aspect of playing on the tag that he despised. 

"It was all salary and no bonus," he said. "You're paying taxes in every city you play in. The year I got tagged, we were playing California twice and in New York." 

So, playing on a tag can be a major hit to a player's bottom line. It certainly helps the team and it can lead to an extension, like it did for Starks, but sometimes it ends up in a Bell-type of situation.