Carolina Panthers place franchise tag on Brian Burns

The Panthers opted to franchise tag talented edge rusher Brian Burns hours before the NFL imposed deadline.

Burns will receive a one-year salary of $24.007 million. This is all according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Sides now can bargain for a longer-term contract or Burns can play on the single-season salary and become a free agent this time next year. There is also the possibility that he finds another team.

The #Panthers officially placed the tag on star edge Brian Burns, and his tag number is $24M fully for one season.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2024

The Panthers used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Burns. And there is a distinction with this tag. Burns now can negotiate with other teams. If Burns receives an offer he likes, he can take it back to the Panthers. The team then can match it or refuse it. If Carolina declines to match, then the other team must give the Panthers two first-round draft picks.

Otherwise. Burns will earn the $24 million, which will make him the sixth-highest-paid player at his position, according to Over the Cap. The numbers desired by Burns and offered by the Panthers are $6 million apart. ESPN reported that Burns has wanted an annual salary of $3 million.

Sides can negotiate through mid-July on whether the deal can be long-term. Otherwise, it will be a one-year deal.

Carolina selected Burns, the former Florida State star, in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, the deadline for franchise tags is today. Teams have had the past two weeks to decide on what to do with certain players who will be playing their final seasons with the team. So far, few NFL teams have designated franchise tag players. The Bengals tagged Tee Higgins, while the Chiefs did so with L’Jarius Sneed and the Bucs placed it on Antoine Winfield Jr.