Washington Tags Brandon Scherff Again

Washington has tagged guard Brandon Scherff for the second time in row, this time bumping the salary from $15.03 million to $18.036 million. This is kind of a surprising move considering the salaries involved for the position.

At this time the high water mark for a first year payout for a guard is $22.65 million, which is what Zack Martin received by the Cowboys on a long term deal. The second highest number in the NFL? Well that would belong to Scherff once he signs the tender which would guarantee his salary for the year and it carries no long term benefit for Washington.

For Washington to be at this point with him is really stunning. If he plays the year on the tag they will have paid Scherff $33.06 million over two years, which is only about $600K less than Martin received in two years with Dallas. Martin’s three year payout was $44.659 million. That means that all Scherff needs to do is stay healthy enough on the tag this year to earn $11.6 million in salary somewhere next year. There are currently 12 guards in the NFL that earned at least that much on a new contract. Ereck Flowers fell just short at $11 million.

Considering that anything he earns more than that number would put him in a far better position than any contract he could have signed last year, he really has a good deal of leverage from this point forward with Washington. Washington has until July 15 to sign him to a long term contract but unless they really blow him away with an offer he is probably better off playing this out given the earning potential next year.