The exclusive franchise tag is what is placed on an NFL player who is about to become a free agent because their current contract is about to end, and the team is allowed to do this for three seasons in a row.
The exclusive tag means no other team can negotiate a new deal with that player, but his current team has to give him a 1-year contract for an amount that is calculated using the average pay of the top five players at that position in the league, or 120% of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.