Six of the 21 players given the franchise tag have yet to sign with their respective teams. The list features some big names, including Drew Brees, Matt Forte and Ray Rice.
All those players believe they are owed a long-term deal, and in the case of Forte and Rice, just having real talks with their teams has been a struggle.
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And yet it was only Brees the NFL Players Association reportedly went to bat for in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, suggesting the quarterback's role in the lockout last year had compromised contract talks with the New Orleans Saints.
From an outsider's perspective, Brees comes off as a sacred cow.
"Nothing against Drew, but he's kind of become (the union's) fair-haired boy," one unnamed franchise player told the Sports XChange's Len Pasquarelli.
The agent for another of the franchise players said the union treats Brees "like some kind of a Messiah or something."
Brees -- Teflon for so long in all matters "bounty"-related -- reportedly has received offers from the Saints that would make him one of the league's highest-paid players. If you're a franchise player staring at a one-year deal with no options, you might be frustrated, too.
