The New York Jets have made a final decision on running back Breece Hall ahead of the Tuesday, March 3 deadline.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed on social media that the Jets are placing the franchise tag on Hall.
That tag is worth $14.29 million, per Over The Cap. That now makes Hall the fourth-highest-paid running back in the NFL by annual salary, per OTC.
The Jets Called an Audible at the Line of Scrimmage
Hughes revealed that the Jets’ original plan and their “preferred route” was utilizing the transition tag.
The transition tag is worth $11.3 million, $3 million fewer than the franchise tag. However, the Jets discovered at the 2026 NFL Combine, according to Hughes, “There were a number of teams who let it be know they planned to make a run at the RB with deals beyond $11.3m. The Jets then pivoted off of transition, to franchise: The only way to make sure Hall wasn’t going anywhere.”
The Jets Clearly Made the Right Choice
If the Jets had used the transition tag, it would have saved them a few bucks, but it would have come with a lot of risk.
Hall would have been allowed to explore the marketplace. If he had signed an offer sheet with another team, the Jets would have had five days to match. If they matched the offer, Hall would’ve remained a member of the Jets on that same exact deal.
However, if the other team got creative and either blew an offer out of the water or created difficult clauses in the contract, that could have made things difficult for the Jets to keep him.
If the Jets didn’t match that offer sheet, Hall would have gone to his new team, and the Jets wouldn’t have received any type of compensation for losing him.
The Jets have the third most cap space in the NFL with over $87 million, per Over The Cap. The difference between the franchise and transition tags is just under $3 million. It’s good that the Jets didn’t try to get cute to try to save a cheap buck.
At the NFL trade deadline last year, the Jets had a chance to flip Hall to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round draft choice. They wanted a third. KC wouldn’t budge. If you wanted to get rid of him, that was the time to do it. After that deadline came and went, it made sense for the Jets to pivot and do everything they could to retain Breece.
The Franchise Tag Can Be Used as a Tool
With the utilization of the franchise tag, the Jets have control. They can tag-and-trade him if things get spicy. Or they can use the tag as a placeholder to buy themselves more time to negotiate a long-term deal.
The Jets have until July 15 to work out a possible extension. If they don’t reach an agreement by then, Hall’s only contractual choice will be to play on the tag or to attempt the holdout game.
Hughes confirmed that “the two sides were working towards an extension.” However, they realized that this deal wasn’t going to get done ahead of the deadline, so the team chose to use the franchise tag.
Jets Make Final Decision on Franchise Tagging RB Breece Hall