A Franchise Kicker

Just how well off are the three time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots? They are considering a franchise tag for their place kicker, Adam Vinatieri. Fanball writes

Yes, you read that correctly: a kicker may be franchised. Obviously, no team in its right mind would give up two first-round picks for a kicker, even one as rock-steady as Vinatieri, so bank on him returning to the Pats next season. And what a luxury for the Patriots to be in such sound salary-cap shape that they have so few other contract worries they can afford to franchise their kicker. That's how a dynasty is constructed.

At a time when some teams have to worry about choosing between two marquee players (Seattle, for example, choosing between their quarterback and their running back), and others have to cut stars to get under the cap (e.g. Tennessee), the Pats can just slap the franchise tag on whoever is convenient.