MILAN — Adeliia Petrosian is called an Individual Neutral Athlete at these Olympic Games, but she’s Russian through and through. She was born and raised in Moscow. She is the three-time Russian national champion and is her country’s only hope to win a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating.

To the international figure skating world, the sole Russian female skater allowed at the Winter Olympics is a bit of a mystery. Because her nation has been banned from competing worldwide since its invasion of Ukraine, this is the first time most of her competitors are seeing her in person. 

That said, most of them missed her during Tuesday night’s short program. They weren’t even in the arena when she took the ice. Petrosian, 18, was forced to skate second out of 29 skaters in the short program because she has not competed internationally and thus has no worldwide results or resume. 

She came onto the ice as some spectators were still finding their seats, but skated a clean short program that received a strong score of 72.89. For two and a half hours, she held the lead, until Japan’s 17-year-old wunderkind, Ami Nakai, grabbed it away with a delightful performance highlighted by a spectacular triple axel. Petrosian ended up fifth in the short program. 

After she skated, Petrosian said it was the ‘most important skate of my life.’ She said she was pleased to get the nervy short program out of the way early. ‘It’s actually an advantage because you’re done earlier and you have more time to rest.’

Asked if she was going to stay in the arena and watch the other skaters over the next several hours, she said she was heading back to the apartment she and her mother are staying in to watch the competition on the live stream. The apartment is convenient; she occasionally walks back after practice.

So now she turns her attention to Thursday’s long program. While she said she is not practicing her triple axel, she also said she wanted to keep her plans for a triple axel or a quadruple jump ‘a secret because I never tell about my program.’

She also said she hadn’t seen favorites like Alysa Liu and Kaori Sakamoto yet at the Games because they were in other practice groups. But that now will change when they skate in the long program Thursday, Feb. 19.

‘I hope to be with them in the same warmup,” she said, hours before she found out she was, ‘and then to really compete with them.’

MILAN — The Team USA speed skaters who lost the gold medal to the Italians in men’s team pursuit did not see the taunt that went viral shortly after the race at the 2026 Winter Olympics Tuesday, Feb. 17 .

One of the Italians did the Steph Curry night-night celebration, as Team Italy put the American silver medalists to bed.

“No, we didn’t see that,’’ said Emery Lehman, who skated in the semifinals and final. But, he added with a laugh, “It’s better than getting two middle fingers from the Russians four years ago.’’

Lehman was referring to the 2022 Olympics, when Russian skater Daniil Dldoshkin extended both of his middle fingers after his team beat the United States in the semifinals of team pursuit.

Casey Dawson, another member of the U.S. team, said of the Italians’ Curry-inspired taunt, “Hey, they’re celebrating. They put in the work. Good for them.’’

It was a classy response from the Americans amid a crushing defeat. The three U.S. men have worked together for the past seven years in hopes of eventually becoming Olympic gold medalists. And they were the team to beat as the Milano Cortina Winter Games began.

But it all ended in defeat during an eight-lap race around the 400-meter track at Milano Speed Skating Stadium. Punctuated by the Steph Curry celebration as imitated by Italian speed skater Andrea Giovannini.

‘I’m a super fan of the NBA,’’ Giovannini later told reporters. “I love all the sports, but a lot of the NBA. Yesterday I told my roommate, ‘If I win tomorrow, I will make the night night.’

‘I did it, and I enjoyed it. Mainly because I’m a super fan of the NBA and Steph Curry.’

Perhaps it was mere coincidence when Ethan Cepuran, the third member of the U.S. team, arrived at a post-event press conference looking exhausted and said, “Just looking forward to a nap.’’

MILAN — Condoms have been restocked in the Olympic Villages in Milano Cortina for the 2026 Winter Olympics after running out during the Games.

A spokesperson for the Milan Cortina Olympics organizing committee and International Olympic Committee confirmed to USA TODAY Sports more were provided over the beginning of the week.

‘The IOC works closely with the Milano Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee to support the mental and physical health of athletes, including supporting sexual health services,’ the IOC said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. ‘The details of the provision are determined by the OCOG and the IOC believes that appropriate services are available for all athletes.’

The restocking of condoms comes after Italian outlet La Stampa initially reported there was a shortage at the villages less than a week after the Olympics officially began.

The IOC later confirmed the supply was depleted ‘due to higher-than-anticipated demand” and planned to ‘continuously replenished until the end of the Games to ensure continued availability.’

‘Shows that Valentine’s Day is in full swing in the village, and I don’t think I can add very much more to that,’ IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told reporters on Saturday, Feb. 14.

It’s been a decades-long practice to distribute free condoms to athletes in the Olympic villages, which has drawn public interest at every Games since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Initially, only 10,000 condoms were distributed for the athletes. It pales in comparison to the 300,000 condoms that were provided for the 2024 Paris Olympics, although there were thousands more athletes for the Summer Games.

‘I think 10,000 (condoms) have been used. So 2,800 athletes, you can go figure, as they say,’ Adams said.

Madagascar alpine skier Mialitiana Clerc said she had heard about the stories and wasn’t shocked because ‘I know that at the Winter Olympics a lot of people use condoms.’ However, she doesn’t believe they’re not just being used. 

‘I saw it in (2022 Winter Olympics) Beijing as well. There were some boxes at the entrance of every building where we were staying, and everything was gone from them,’ Clerc said. ‘I already know a lot of people are using some condoms, or maybe taking them to give to their friends outside the Olympics. Maybe they are using them as gifts, just for fans.’

The Winter Olympics run through Sunday, Feb. 22 with the closing ceremonies taking place on that day.

This story was updated to change a video and add new information.

PHOENIX — Just in case anyone had even the slightest flicker of optimism there won’t be a labor war shutting down baseball in December, that was extinguished quickly Tuesday morning with Tony Clark resigning as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players’ Association.

The players still have to vote on Clark’s successor, but with less than 10 months remaining before the collective bargaining agreement expires, it would only make sense that Bruce Meyer, Clark’s right-hand man and the union’s lead negotiator since 2018, will be at least the interim successor.

“There’s just not enough time for it to be anyone else,’ one prominent baseball agent told USA TODAY Sports.

And Meyer, who was promoted to the union’s deputy executive director in 2022, just so happens to be Public Enemy No. 1 for MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and his executive staff.

It’s not as if Clark was golfing buddies with Manfred or grabbing drinks with team owners, but they considered him reasonable, and as a former 15-year All-Star first baseman, certainly had their respect.

Meyer is a tenacious, hard-nosed labor lawyer who MLB labor officials despise. They called him unreasonable during their last negotiations, frequently clashing, accusing him of being bad for baseball. And now MLB could be dealing directly with Meyer, who will spearhead the labor negotiations without Clark’s involvement.

“This,’ one club executive said, “is going to be a bloodbath.’

Still, as another high-ranking agent pointed out, Meyer was going to be the lead negotiator even if Clark stayed aboard. The union’s bargaining committee remains the same, as does the union’s position on matters.

One agent was adamant in his belief that Meyer would not be the successor, and the MLBPA instead would promote another lawyer from the union office, retaining Meyer as their chief negotiator.

The agents and executive spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of upcoming negotiations.

But no matter how anyone wants to spin it, the timing of Clark’s resignation, who has been under investigation into alleged financial improprieties at the union, couldn’t be much worse.

This is the time that Clark and union officials meet with every team in spring training to disseminate information and provide some cliff notes on their upcoming labor strategy, stressing the importance of being unified.

They were going to tell everyone that they won’t even discuss a salary cap, believe that the Dodgers’ $400 million payroll is good for baseball and that the sport has never been healthier. The message they wanted players to convey to the media and fans is that the owners, and not the players, who would be responsible for shutting down the game with a lockout.

The message was scheduled to be first delivered Tuesday at the Cleveland Guardians’ and Chicago White Sox’s camps. The meetings were postponed Monday evening, and have yet to be re-scheduled. The union had scheduled a tour visiting every team in Arizona in February and in Florida in March.

Now, everything is up in the air as players and team union representatives scrambled searching for answers.

“We’re going to have an interim [executive director] and keep everything as stable as we can here,’ Los Angeles reliever Brent Suter, who’s on the subcommittee, told reporters.

What does Tony Clark’s exit mean for MLBPA?

San Francisco Giants player representative Logan Webb said Tuesday that he wasn’t aware of Clark’s resignation until he saw reports, while New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien, one of eight members of the union’s subcommittee, wasn’t informed until Tuesday morning.

Semien said he wasn’t overly surprised because of the federal investigation, telling reporters in the Mets clubhouse: “You definitely don’t want things to be a distraction going into December.’

It’s now up to the union to prevent the perception that it’s in disarray at a critical time when negotiations were expected to begin in early April, while also trying to determine whether Meyer should be the natural successor.

Remember, it was two years ago in spring training that player representatives expressed their frustration during a three-hour videoconference call that advocated for Meyer’s ouster. There were 21 player representatives who wanted to replace Meyer with Harry Marino, the lawyer who led the efforts of minor league players being unionized. Clark vehemently supported Meyer, and the coup failed.

Meyer was criticized by several agents and players at the time for deferring to the interests of powerful agent Scott Boras during the negotiations, which Meyer vehemently denied in an open letter to players, saying he had never met Boras before being hired.

“From the moment I was hired, if not before, MLB began demonizing me both privately and publicly,’ Meyer wrote. “Among other things, one of their strategies was to spread the lie that I had been somehow hired at the behest of Scott Boras and was therefore beholden to him. This lie, which has taken many forms over the years, was a calculated (and time-honored) management strategy.’’

Meyer oversaw the negotiations during the height of the pandemic in 2020, and during the 99-day lockout that began in December 2021. The eight-player executive council voted unanimously to reject MLB’s final proposal during negotiations on a new CBA in March, 2022, that included an increase in minimum salaries, a $50 million pre-arbitration pool and anti-tanking mechanisms. Yet, the rank-and-file overruled them and accepted the proposal, allowing the season to be played without any games or paychecks missed.

Now, it will be up to the players to decide whether Meyer will become the union’s seventh executive director, replacing Clark, who was in charge since 2013 after the death of Michael Weiner.

MLB would love for the union chief to be anyone but Meyer, fearing that the rancor between the two sides will only accelerate without Clark’s involvement, but they have no choice.

So buckle up, and prepare for a plethora of hostility and acrimony coming to a bargaining table near you.

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A women’s basketball player at the University of North Carolina Wilmington was arrested last week and faces four felony charges, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Paige Smith, 20, was arrested at 10:55 p.m. on Feb. 10 at New Hanover High School in Wilmington and faces charges of felony possession of marijuana (between 1.5 ounces and 10 pounds in North Carolina), possession with intent to manufacture or sell or deliver marijuana, possession with intent to sell or deliver a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling or place for controlled substances. Smith also faces a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

According to a release order from the New Hanover County District Court, Smith was “in possession” of “approximately half of a pound” of marijuana that was “packaged for delivery and distribution” in a high school parking lot. The report says there was also a gun in the vehicle —  a Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 — at the time of the arrest, “even though it did not belong to the defendant.” The order adds that Smith has no prior criminal record.

A spokesperson for UNC-Wilmington athletics told USA TODAY Sports that Smith is still enrolled at UNCW — and has been since June 2025 — as a pre-psychology major, but has been suspended from the women’s basketball team since Feb. 9, the day before her arrest. She is no longer listed on the Seahawks’ online roster.

“Consistent with our commitment to student privacy and the integrity of ongoing processes, UNCW will not offer additional comment,” the spokesperson said.

Smith posted a $5,000 bond on Feb. 11, according to court records.

The attorney Smith has retained, Ebern Thornton Watson, declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY Sports, saying in a statement: ‘It is the policy of the New Hanover County Public Defenders office to refrain from comment on any pending matters.’

USA TODAY Sports has also submitted a request with the New Hanover County’s Sheriff’s Office for the full arrest report.

The 5-foot-7 guard from Hagerstown, Maryland, joined the UNCW Seahawks last April, transferring from the Community College of Baltimore County Essex, where she was a NJCAA Division II All-American. She had a handful of NCAA Division I offers after averaging 17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals for CCBC Essex, where she also ranked third nationally in 3-pointers made, connecting on 96 shots from behind the arc.

‘Paige is someone that checks all the boxes for us,’ UNCW coach Nicole Woods said in April. ‘We were looking for a three-level scorer and someone who played with an extra chip on her shoulders.’

Smith had appeared in 21 games for the Seahawks this season, playing 19.6 minutes per game off the bench. She was averaging 8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, ranking third on the team in scoring for the 6-18 Seahawks. In her last appearance for UNCW, a loss at William & Mary, Smith tallied 19 points and five rebounds. She scored a season-high 25 points in a loss at Gardner-Webb on Nov. 19.

Her next court appearance is set for Feb. 26.

LIVIGNO, Italy — Mac Forehand has a perfect name for a tennis player. 

Instead of a racquet, though, his instruments of athletic domination are skis. Coupled with a competitive fire, the 24-year-old emerged from the 2026 Winter Olympics as the rising star for the USA men’s free ski team. 

And with his first career Olympic medal.

Forehand won silver in the men’s big air competition Tuesday, Feb. 17 in thrilling style. With the top three locked in for the final three jumps of the night, Austria’s Matej Svancer jumped into second with a 96.00. Next up was Forehand, who’d need a huge trick to overtake Tormod Frostad, the Norwegian with last licks thanks to owning the highest score going into the final round.

Forehand crushed his final run with a 98.25 for his left nose-butter triple cork 2160 safety grab. Forehand had never done the trick but thought it’d be enough to move into first place. He really didn’t have many other options, he discussed with his coaches, even if he’d rather not do it.

So he landed a trick that has never been done in competition before – maybe ever, Forehand said. His second trick – nose butter triple cork 2160 safety grab – he learned in the second day of training. That’s when he first believed he had a shot at winning.

“Did the trick I kind of dreamt of,” Forehand said afterward.

The weight of the Olympic moment brought out the best in him. He wondered if that was why he landed it so purely. His coaches didn’t force him to do it. Like a lot snowboarding and free ski athletes, he’s equally concerned with pushing the sport and winning medals.

“It’s like, ‘Oh (expletive), I have to do this trick for myself,” he said.

He added: “It’s terrifying, to be honest. You don’t really know how it’s going to work. But you’ve played that moment back in your head so many times that you kind of know that you can go to your feet.”

Forehand realized making the extra half-revolution was possible based on the video he watched of his second trick.

“It’s definitely a scary moment,’ he said. ‘The crowd’s cheering. The pressure’s on.”

The final maneuver briefly moved him into first place before Frostad also went where no skier has ever gone in competition before with an original trick that, although it had 1.5 less revolutions than Forehand’s best, was a technical beauty and landed cleanly. His total score of 195.50, with a 98.50 on the last run, allowed him to leapfrog Forehand and to the top spot on the podium.

Forehand’s mother, Ann Marie, was overcome with emotion and buried her face between the cheek of Ray Forehand, her husband and Mac’s dad, after their son nailed his final trick.

“It was anybody’s contest,’ Ann Marie told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I’m just so proud of him for being here.’

Once the competition ended, and Forehand had congratulated his competitors – the brotherhood in free skiing goes beyond first, second or third place – he jogged to the family reunion area for an embrace with his parents.

“That was the most incredible skiing,’ Ray Forehand told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I’ve watched a lot skiing in my life. It was just unbelievable. The level of competition was beyond belief.

“Who gets a 98? It’s crazy.”

Their daughter, Savannah, had been in town for the slopestyle competition but returned to the U.S. for work this week. She joined the party via FaceTime and got a kick out of the NBC broadcast catching her brother planting a smooch on his girlfriend, Canadian moguls skier Maïa Schwinghammer. Ann Marie and Scwinghammer were crying.

“I dreamt about that for a long time,’ Forehand said of the moment.

Born in Connecticut, the family moved to Vermont for Mac to pursue his dream.

“It looks all glamorous. It’s not,’ Ray said. ‘It’s nitty-gritty, early mornings. But so well-deserved. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Snow continued falling during the competition, which was delayed 15 minutes for weather. A volunteer at the top of the jump cleared the takeoff area with a shovel, while another re-painted the blue lines skiers use for jump markers between each round of jumps.

After the first run, Forehand was tied in second with a 95. He then stomped his left nose-butter triple cork 1980 for another 95 points to remain in second place alone with a 190 total, 2.25 points behind first-place Frostad entering the final run.

The other U.S. free skiers, Troy Podmilsak and Konnor Ralph, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

“It could have been flipped either way,” said Ralph, who added: “I’m stoked for Mac, of course, he’s been working so hard for this,”

Podmilsak thought Forehand deserved gold. He’s biased, of course.

“That was the hardest I’ve ever cheered for anything in my life when he landed that last one,” said Podmilsak, who described the slopestyle/big air Americans as ‘brothers.’ “I thought he was gonna win.

“You never really know what the judges are gonna do and which way they’re going to do with it.”

Forehand explained that he goes with his momentum to propel his rotations. Frostad jumps against that rotation, hence his fewer spins. Newcomers to the sport, those who don’t watch it every day – maybe every four years, if they happen to catch it – may struggle to understand.

He doesn’t care about the social-media comments that say, and will continue to claim, he was robbed of gold.

“I don’t care,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen it so many times before.”

Whether it was himself who was robbed, or he was the thief.

“We know so much about our sport,’ Forehand said. ‘We know what scores (high).’

And now Forehand knows what winning and Olympic medal feels like, too.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn says her injury from the crash in the Olympic downhill was “a lot more severe” than a broken leg.

Skylar Grey’s “Coming Home” plays during the video.

“My leg is still in pieces… but I’m finally HOME!” Vonn wrote. “My injury was a lot more severe than just a broken leg. I’m still wrapping my head around it, what it means and the road ahead…. but I’m going to give you more detail in the coming days.”

Vonn suffered a complex tibial fracture in her left leg during the crash. She had four surgeries in Italy and had already said she’ll need at least one more after she returned to the United States.

“Seriously looking forward to my next surgery when I can get the X-fit out of my leg and will be able to move more,” Vonn wrote, referring to the gruesome-looking device used to stabilize her left leg.

The last shot shows a beaming Vonn in a hospital bed back in the United States.

Opinion: Lindsey Vonn’s crash was cruel. Her bravery epitomizes Olympic spirit

What happened to Lindsey Vonn?

Vonn hooked the fourth gate with her right arm, which sent her spinning and hurtling into the hard, packed snow. She tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop.

‘Things just happen so quick in this sport,’ U.S. teammate Bella Wright said after the race. ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that.’

The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, and she could be heard wailing in pain. The gasps and groans from fans faded into shocked silence as medics worked on her. Vonn remained on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.

What is Lindsey Vonn’s injury?

In an Instagram post on Feb. 9, Vonn shared the devastating news that she suffered a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries. The 41-year-old updated fans on Feb. 11 after a third surgery in Italy and included some gruesome photos of her progress . On Feb. 14, Vonn posted after her third surgery that she still has more procedures ahead of her, but was finally able to return to the United States.

‘Once I’m back I will give you more updates and info about my injury,’ Vonn wrote .

A tibia fracture is a break in the shin bone that is an emergency needing immediate treatment. ‘Your tibias are some of the strongest bones in your body. It usually takes a lot of force to break one,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. ‘You probably won’t be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a broken shin bone.’

A complex fracture involves multiple breaks in a bone and damaged soft tissue, according Yale Medicine. Symptoms include extreme pain, numbness and, sometimes, a bone that protrudes through the skin. Treatment involves stabilization and surgery.

Lindsey Vonn crash video

NBC broadcasts the Olympics and posted video of Vonn’s crash .

USA TODAY Sports’ Samantha Cardona-Norberg breaks down Linsdey Vonn’s crash just after it happened.

Fans went silent as soon as Vonn crash, reacting with shock, grief and later support as the helicopter lifted her into the sky. USA TODAY Sports talked to some fans after the crash .

Is Lindsey Vonn OK?

Vonn was in obvious pain after the crash, but she was moving her arms, head and neck.

About 18 minutes after the crash, the helicopter slowly began flying toward Cortina. ‘Let’s let Lindsey Vonn hear us!’ the American announcer said as the chopper flew away with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.

Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was at the course today for the downhill and spoke to NBC reporters during their live broadcast:

‘I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign,’ Kildow said. ‘But she really … She just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s okay.

‘She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.’

Lindsey Vonn torn ACL

It was second time in as many weeks Vonn left a mountaintop on a chopper. She fully ruptured her left ACL, sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising , in a downhill crash on Jan. 30, in the final World Cup event prior to the start of the Olympics.

Vonn is also skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.

Despite the latest injury, Vonn was determined to race at her fifth and final Olympics. She said her knee felt stable and strong, and she had spent the last week doing intense rehab , pool workouts, weight lifting and plyometrics. She skied both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second run before it was canceled because of fog and snow.

Lindsey Vonn torn ACL

Vonn is 41 and was skiing in her fifth Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2026). She has won three Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 bronze).

Tag. You’re it. Sorry. (Not sorry?)

The window for NFL teams to apply a franchise or transition tag to one of their pending free agents opened Feb. 17 and won’t close until 4 p.m. ET on March 3. Moving forward, many of the league’s top potential targets will be hoping to duck the restrictive one-year Band-Aids – which, by definition, provide no long-term security – though lesser-known up-and-comers sometimes appreciate the lucrative, assured balloon payment if they’ve been toiling on cheaper contracts.

Yet tags are also a choice for teams. They can be a place-holding mechanism to retain an important player until a longer-term solution can be hammered out; a precursor to a trade; a way to gauge players’ market values; or simply all they’re willing to do before finding a replacement down the line. Yet tags come with serious downsides, too, often poisoning the negotiating well, potentially sending an unwelcome message to the rest of a locker room, frequently leading to lengthy offseason absences by franchised players and/or even possibly forcing a team to release other ones in order to shoehorn a one-year, fully guaranteed tag under its salary cap.

How might – and, more importantly, should – each team proceed with their tagging decisions over the next two weeks? Our advice for approaching the 2026 tags for all 32 clubs (listed alphabetically, salary cap figures courtesy Over The Cap):

Arizona Cardinals

Their best free agent is probably DL Calais Campbell. No one’s tagging a 39-year-old … and almost certainly not anyone else here with the possible exception of S Jalen Thompson.

Atlanta Falcons

A tight end franchise tag will likely be in the neighborhood of $15-$16 million. So franchising Kyle Pitts would make sense from a financial standpoint and a production perspective in the wake of one of his best seasons. Yet it’s worth noting that new coach Kevin Stefanski rarely maximized a similarly gifted player, David Njoku, in Cleveland. It’s a compelling organizational decision for a team under new management − especially since Pitts was more productive with QB Kirk Cousins, who’s likely to be an ex-Falcon himself soon, throwing to him.

Baltimore Ravens

They declined Pro Bowl C Tyler Linderbaum’s fifth-year option a year ago but failed to lock him up with a long-term extension. If that doesn’t happen soon, then Baltimore will have to decide if it’s worth tagging Linderbaum – at roughly $25 million, left tackle-level money since all O-linemen are lumped together. The alternative is significantly weakening the already questionable protection QB Lamar Jackson had last season.

Buffalo Bills

While it would be nice to re-sign C Connor McGovern and/or G David Edwards, neither is worth left tackle-level compensation. Buffalo can’t afford a tag right now anyway, currently more than $12 million overbudget for 2026.

Carolina Panthers

C Cade Mays and RB Rico Dowdle are nice players. No reason to overcompensate either with a tag when market price should be more than sufficient.

Chicago Bears

The NFC North champs had no idea they were getting a starter, much less a Pro Bowler, when they signed CB Nahshon Wright, 27, off the scrap heap last year. A tag, approximating $20 million, might make sense here, giving the team certainty Wright isn’t a fluke while giving him easily the biggest payday of his career. However, Chicago would have to do some cost cutting in order to clear room for it.

Cincinnati Bengals

Would it really be worth doubling down on the bad blood between the team and DE Trey Hendrickson to hit him with a tag – even if the ultimate objective is to deal him? Almost certainly not, neither from the locker room messaging nor from the consequential impact it would have on the front office’s ability to otherwise spend on its beleaguered defense.

Cleveland Browns

No reason to use a tag, especially when considering their dearth of cap space.

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

It’s understandable that they might be giddy to spend as they emerge from the crushing dead cap hit from former QB Russell Wilson’s ill-advised extension. But no reason to burn any of their newly realized financial flexibility on a tag this year.

Detroit Lions

They’re nearly $10 million overspent right now. Moving on.

Green Bay Packers

They stand to lose quality starters like LT Rasheed Walker and WR Romeo Doubs – not to mention QB2 Malik Willis – but none merit a tag’s expenditure, especially for a team already tight against the cap.

Houston Texans

No legit tag candidates and no cap space.

Indianapolis Colts

GM Chris Ballard is historically averse to using the tag – employing it just once in his nine seasons – but will need to get an extension with QB Daniel Jones done soon in order to avoid a (hefty) second application. Good as WR Alec Pierce was in 2025, a tag at his position feels way too rich for a secondary target.

Jacksonville Jaguars

LB Devin Lloyd, CB Montaric Brown and RB Travis Etienne should be under consideration, though GM James Gladstone doesn’t currently have the financial bandwidth to franchise any of them. Etienne might make the most sense given tailbacks have the cheapest tag among position players. Lloyd had a star turn in 2025, but linebacker tags are priced at pass rusher rates, and he isn’t one.

Kansas City Chiefs

Hard to believe TE Travis Kelce would play anywhere other than K.C., assuming he still wants to play – meaning the Chiefs can likely keep their tag pocketed. Nearly $55 million over the cap anyway, they’re likely not accomplishing much of anything until (unless?) they restructure QB Patrick Mahomes’ pact.

Las Vegas Raiders

A rebooting team with a relatively weak roster has no business tagging any of its fairly marginal free agents.

Los Angeles Chargers

Odafe Oweh was awfully good after joining the Bolts last October. But whether a pass rush specialist is worthy of a tag likely to approach $28 million is an open question – though the Chargers can afford to bring him and fellow OLB Khalil Mack back.

Los Angeles Rams

S Kamren Curl is a sturdy, steady player, if not one who commands a $20 million annual salary. Priority One here needs to be extending WR Puka Nacua anyway in order to avoid playing the tag game with him a year from now.

Miami Dolphins

A new regime focused on slashing salaries should continue working on that front – and on an exit strategy from QB Tua Tagovailoa – ahead of what’s probably going to be a very bumpy 2026 campaign.

Minnesota Vikings

Only the Chiefs have more money to slash from their cap ahead of the new league year on March 11. Fortunately, WR3 Jalen Nailor is probably the most notable free agent here.

New England Patriots

While they’d like to keep players like OLB K’Lavon Chaisson and S Jaylinn Hawkins, they should earmark the funds in a $40+ million free agent war chest for bigger fish – especially if opportunities arise to get a premier pass rusher, interior O-lineman and/or receiver.

New Orleans Saints

While they might have to part with mainstays like DL Cam Jordan, LB Demario Davis and TE Taysom Hill, this seems like an ideal time for this organization to balance its books as it continues to assess and reset around second-year QB Tyler Shough.

New York Giants

WR Wan’dale Robinson, CB Cordale Flott and RT Jermaine Eluemunor would be nice to re-sign. None necessitate blowing the budget in Year 1 under coach John Harbaugh.

New York Jets

The price is probably right for RB Breece Hall, who’s earned roughly $10 million during his four-year career but would get about a 50% bump from that total for another year of service if franchised. A tag in the $14-$15 million range would make Hall, who’s only 24, one of the top-paid backs in the league on a per-year basis … if only one. Also, a team that wants – and probably needs – to be run-oriented, especially in the near term, doesn’t need to liberate one of its best players. And GM Darren Mougey has cash to burn.

Philadelphia Eagles

It would require shifting money elsewhere, but EVP/GM Howie Roseman wouldn’t have to move heaven and earth in order to franchise OLB Jaelan Phillips, who came aboard at last season’s trade deadline. Yet Roseman would likely be at least equally content to let Phillips go and collect the hefty compensatory pick he’ll eventually return while considering whether to re-sign the likes of TE Dallas Goedert and or LB Nakobe Dean to contracts that wouldn’t be as burdensome as whatever Phillips earns.

Pittsburgh Steelers

While they might want G Isaac Seumalo, RB Kenny Gainwell and, certainly, QB Aaron Rodgers, 42, to return, none are tag-adjacent – Rodgers showing last year he’s willing to play for much less than his value, even at his age.

San Francisco 49ers

They’ve sprung enough leaks, particularly on defense, that it doesn’t make sense to franchise WR2 Jauan Jennings … despite his distinctive skill set and personality. If the Niners can get him back at a more reasonable rate, more power to both parties. One player GM John Lynch might consider tagging, in large part due to a lower positional figure, is K Eddy Piñeiro, who stabilized a problem area and led the league with a 96.6% conversion rate on field goals.

Seattle Seahawks

As Super Bowl champions typically do, they have some fascinating decisions to make. GM John Schneider has roughly $60 million at his disposal for free agency and would surely like to keep players such as WR/KR Rashid Shaheed, S Coby Bryant, OLB Boye Mafe, CB Josh Jobe and, of course, Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. It would certainly help to get a few under contract early and hold the tag in reserve. But, all things being equal, Walker is probably the most logical target for a franchise or transition tag given the lower cost associated with running backs. And given RB Zach Charbonnet tore an ACL during the playoffs, retaining Walker for the 2026 season seems like a pressing priority.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Veteran WR Mike Evans, LB Lavonte David and CB Jamel Dean are all career Bucs − and GM Jason Licht will have to hope they want to keep it that way, because none should be in line for a tag at these advanced stages of their careers.

Tennessee Titans

Is QB Cam Ward going to be a free agent? (No.) How about DT Jeffery Simmons? (No.) Next.

Washington Commanders

They’ve got nearly two dozen unsigned guys who are at least 30 years old, rarely the types you tag. A team that obviously needs to get younger could certainly effort to keep some of its leaders but doesn’t have anyone north (or south) of 30 that warrants premium money.

What is the NFL franchise tag?

It’s a one-year, fully guaranteed tender that provides a player with a significant raise from his current team but impedes his ability to test the free agent market. A tag’s value is based on a player’s position. Per the NFL CBA:

“The Nonexclusive Franchise Tender shall be a one year NFL Player Contract for (A) the average of the five largest Prior Year Salaries for players at the position … at which the Franchise Player participated in the most plays during the prior League Year, which average shall be calculated by: (1) summing the amounts of the Franchise Tags for players at that position for the five preceding League Years; (2) dividing the resulting amount by the sum of the Salary Caps for the five preceding League Years …; and (3) multiplying the resulting percentage by the Salary Cap for the upcoming League Year … (the ‘Cap Percentage Average’) …; or (B) 120% of his Prior Year Salary, whichever is greater.”

Tag values rarely decrease year over year. Each team can use one (franchise or transition) per offseason.

Franchised players have until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with their team. Otherwise, they must play the 2026 season on the tag and cannot sign an extension before the conclusion of Week 18.

Non-exclusive franchise tag: The most common type of tag, it allows players to negotiate with other clubs. If the player signs an offer sheet with a different team, his current one has the option of matching it or letting him go and receiving two first-round draft picks as compensation – a scenario that hasn’t occurred since 1998. However, players can be franchised and traded for alternative compensation if an arrangement is reached.

Exclusive franchise tag: A player receiving this version of the tag cannot negotiate elsewhere.

Transition tag: Slightly less lucrative than a franchise tag, it returns no draft compensation to a player’s original team if it declines to match an offer sheet.

How much are NFL franchise tags worth in 2026?

The value for each tag in 2026 has not been finalized. The following are the tag values, by position, in 2025 − most likely to increase by a few million this year:

Quarterback: $40.24 million
Running back: $13.64 million
Wide receiver: $23.96 million
Tight end: $13.83 million
Offensive lineman: $23.4 million
Defensive end: $22.06 million
Defensive tackle: $25.12 million
Linebacker: $25.45 million
Cornerback: $20.19 million
Safety: $18.6 million
Kicker/punter: $6.31 million

Which NFL players received the franchise tag in 2025?

Only two players were tagged last year, both eventually signing long-term deals:

Bengals WR Tee Higgins: Eventually signed four-year, $115 million extension.
Chiefs G Trey Smith: Eventually signed four-year, $94 million extension.