The Chiefs have informed free agent to be guard Trey Smith that they will franchise tag him ahead of the free agency period. The one year tender offer will be worth $23.403 million and would be fully guaranteed if Smith signed the offer. Smith will still be free to negotiate with other teams but it would come at a cost of two first round picks if they were to sign him, more or less making it a lock that he remains with the Chiefs.

The tag is rarely used on guards due to the high cost associated with the franchise tag. If Smith accepts this one year deal it would be the 7th highest single season salary ever paid to a guard and Smith would then be eligible for another shot at free agency next year. A second franchise tag would cost the Chiefs $28.08 million, brining his two year earning potential up to $51.48 million, which is about $2 million more than the current high of $49.5 million. Smith would then get his crack at free agency in 2027.

The point of this is that Smith clearly has the leverage to be the highest paid guard of all time by quite a big margin. The current high earner at the position is Landon Dickerson at $21 million a season. Smith’s asking price at this point should be somewhere around $25 million a year at a minimum.

Why the Chiefs did not find a way to extend him last season is a question that they should be asking themselves. For positions like this, the need to apply the franchise tag gives the player a tremendous amount of leverage in negotiations. Smith last year likely does not top $20 million a season. Now the team has put themselves into a spot where they will be spending millions more to keep someone they should have just extended last summer.