The Philadelphia Eagles moved to secure the rights to Michael Vick on Tuesday when the team placed the franchise tag on the quarterback.
The franchise tag limits Vick’s rights as a potential unrestricted free agent and likely binds him to the Eagles for next season. He would receive the average salary of the five highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.
That number isn’t official yet for the 2011 season, but will likely be between $15 and $20 million. Vick earned about $5.25 million in 2010, when he claimed the Eagles’ starting job and finished second in MVP voting.
The Eagles also placed the transition tag on K David Akers on Tuesday.
“Michael Vick and David Akers were two of our most valuable players last year,” Eagles head coach Andy Reid said.
“They were well deserving of their Pro Bowl berths and we’re happy to take this step to ensure that they’ll be back in Philadelphia next season.”
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The Eagles brought Vick back to the NFL in 2009. He has said he hopes he can work out a long-term deal to stay with the team.
The franchise tag is in dispute this year because the NFLPA considers it “meaningless” if the league’s CBA expires after March 3.
If no CBA is reached by March 4, all contracts would be frozen
