How many Saints players will be franchise tag-ineligible due to void years?

John Sigler

February 25, 2022 at 2:36 PM·7 min read

No team has weaponized automatically-voided contract years (also sometimes called “ghost years”) like the New Orleans Saints. Their go-to tool has helped them navigate some hazardous waters, working around the salary cap to put the best team together and hold onto as much talent possible. But it’s not without costs. Whenever a contract voids, any prorated payments (often leftover signing bonus payouts kicked down the road) accelerate to the immediate offseason if the player doesn’t sign a new deal. And, depending on when the contract is scheduled to void, it could take the franchise tag out of play.

Teams can pick any date they want in determining when future contract years will void. It could be two days after the Super Bowl or two days before free agency begins, or anywhere in-between. Most teams have preferred to schedule these void triggers shortly after the Super Bowl, giving them time to evaluate the player’s season and decide whether they should be part of their long-term plans.

Putting the trigger date there also places it before the franchise tag window opens. That benefits the team in case this is a player they badly want to retain, keeping the franchise tag (and the transition tag, which works similarly but only brings right of first refusal to another team’s contract offer) in play during contract negotiations.

But we’ve seen the Saints make concessions to players in scheduling the void date as late as possible — contracts with Terron Armstead and Jameis Winston both include void years for accounting purposes, and the date triggering their expiration is March 16. That’s the same day free agency kicks off, and it’s also a week after the franchise tag window slams shut. So both Armstead and Winston were given concessions that they would either re-sign with the Saints or hit the open market so they could take the best possible offer, dodging the tag altogether.

Side note: that’s also the case for Tre’Quan Smith, whose contract was restructured to add void years late in 2021 and will expire on the same date as Armstead and Winston. New Orleans was pressed for cap space late in the 2021 season with so many players on injured reserve and unavailable in COVID-19 protocols. But, to be frank, Smith wouldn’t be considered for the tag either way. He’s not getting paid the $19 million the tag is valued this year by the Saints or anyone else. We’ll write that one off as the Saints choosing to keep things simple.

But let’s take a look at which other Saints players currently have void years written into their contracts, and how that could come into play with the franchise tag down the road:

Cameron Jordan

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Cameron Jordan’s contract will void on March 12, 2024, the day before the start of the 2025 NFL fiscal year. But that’s more than a week after that year’s tag window would close, making him ineligible. It’s a pointed move to allow one of the great players in franchise history to know he won’t have to play on the tag, granting him some long-term stability and an assurance that he’ll be allowed to survey the open market if things get to that point. Then again, he’ll be 35 and may choose to hang it up when that time comes.

David Onyemata

AP Photo/Derick Hingle

However, David Onyemata’s contract will void on Feb. 10, 2023 — that’s two days before Super Bowl LVII kicks off in Arizona. It would make him eligible for the franchise tag, though you have to wonder if it would be an option for the team. He’d need to really level up in 2022 to get to that point. But he’s a prime candidate for an early extension as New Orleans’ best defensive tackle, which would make this moot.

Taysom Hill

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Taysom Hill’s contract voids in 2026, but the exact date for that hasn’t been reported. And it probably doesn’t matter with his $9 million roster bonus for 2022 primed for a restructure into a signing bonus, at which point the Saints could determine when that void date in 2026 will be.

Demario Davis

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints’ contract with Demario Davis is scheduled to void on March 16, 2024; that’s a few days after the start of free agency, and well after the franchise tag window closes. That’s likely a concession to him in assuring he will have the opportunity to get the best contract possible, assuming he intends to keep playing in 2024 (when he’ll be 35 years old) and beyond.

Bradley Roby

AP Photo/Derick Hingle

Bradley Roby’s contract was restructured to add several void years upon his trade to New Orleans, but it’s unclear which specific date in 2023 will trigger that. But there’s no way he’s playing for the Saints in 2022 as his deal is currently structured. He has a staggering salary cap hit north of $10.1 million. He’ll either take a pay cut, agree to a restructure, or be released or traded again. He likely wouldn’t be a tag candidate next year either way.

Marcus Davenport

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

The Saints were tight against the cap when they traded for Roby, prompting them to restructure the rest of Marcus Davenport’s salary just for $1.08 million in cap space. That move required several void years be added to his contract, which is expiring anyway after the 2022 season (when he’s playing on his fifth year option). The exact date triggering those voided years has not been reported.

Tanoh Kpassagnon

AP Photo/Terrance Williams

Tanoh Kpassagnon’s contract with the Saints voids on March 7, 2023, right at the end of the tag window. He wouldn’t be a candidate for the tag unless he plays his way out of a backup spot and seriously breaks out during the upcoming season, but it technically would be an option for the Saints next year given how this was structured. Well, almost. It’s likely that Kpassagnon’s contract will void at the close of business on March 7 (4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT) which is also when the tag window closes. If that’s the case, and I’m inclined to think so, he would be ineligible.

Conclusion

So in review: the Saints have structured their contracts with Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis so that neither player will be eligible to receive the franchise tag in future years. The tag could be in play for David Onyemata next offseason if he plays out his contract as it currently stands. Tanoh Kpassagnon could be eligible for the tag at the same time (depending on the precise language in his contract) but he won’t be considered unless his level of play increases by, well, several degrees.

While Taysom Hill, Bradley Roby, and Marcus Davenport each have void years written into their contracts, we don’t know when that will trigger and whether they will be eligible recipients for the franchise tag. Of the three, Davenport feels most likely to be considered for the tag given Hill’s long-term contract and his status as a high-impact starter.

So here’s a scenario to mull over: both Davenport and Onyemata are on track to be unrestricted free agents in 2023, potentially coming off career-best years. The tag would be an option to retain one of them. That might be what’s needed to put out one fire so they can work to re-sign the other player. Of course, that could all be avoided if the Saints go ahead and sign these players to long-term contract extensions now — which is exactly what we’ve been calling for.

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