Saints Fans' Guide to Taysom Hill's 1st Round Tender

We have a guide for Saints Fans on the Taysom Hill first-round tender from the New Orleans Saints. Hill enters the 2020 offseason as a Restricted Free Agent after spending the first three years of his NFL career in New Orleans.

Some Saints fans have wondered, exactly what is a 1st Round Tender?  And, why is it important for the Saints to place one on Taysom Hill?

On Friday, March 6th, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Saints plan on using a first-round tender on restricted free agent (RFA) QB Taysom Hill.  The decision from GM Mickey Loomis comes about two weeks prior to the start of the new league year on March 18th at 4:00pm EST. New Orleans heads into 2020 free agency with all three quarterbacks from the 2019 roster scheduled to hit the open market.  Out of the trio of Brees, Bridgewater and Hill, the BYU product is the only one of the three that will carry a qualifying offer, thus making him restricted.

First-round tender for RFA QBs is expected to come in around $5 million for 2020. But the Saints believe they’ll have a deal done with Taysom Hill before free agency, when another team can sign him to an offer sheet. https://t.co/PIYV8QxAsJ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2020

More times than not, fans are deeply confused within the process of free agency and the terminology of it all. Below is a common Q/A for RFAs and what the 1st Round tender means for the Saints and Taysom Hill. 

So what is a Restricted Free Agent? 

The NFL defines a restricted free agent as this:

A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers ("tenders") that come with the Right of First Refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. These amounts change by a minimum of 5 percent and a maximum of 10 percent (based on the salary cap) each League Year. Teams must submit these tenders before 4 p.m. ET on March 18.

(An accrued season is defined as a player being on a team for at least six regular season games, although practice squad designation doesn’t count. The reserve physically unable to perform (PUP) list for non-football injuries also doesn’t count as an accrued season.)

What qualifies as a qualifying offer/tender?

Each team has four options per restricted free agent.  They are as followed...

First-round tender:

One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $4.407 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. If the player's original team decides not to match an offer sheet signed with another team, it is entitled to a first-round draft pick from his new team. 

Second-round tender:

One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $3.095 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. Draft-choice compensation: second-round pick. 

Original-round tender:

One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $2.025 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. Draft-choice compensation: a pick in the round the player was originally drafted in. 

Right-of-first-refusal tender:



One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $2.025 million or (b) 110 percent of the player's prior-year base salary. Team has the right to match any offer sheet signed with another team, but there is no draft compensation tied to this tender.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

How does the 1st Round tender affect Taysom Hill returning to New Orleans?

The 1st round tender on Taysom Hill allows New Orleans to match any offer made to Hill in free agency.  In the event that New Orleans decides not to match the offer sheet from another team, the team that signs Hill would surrender its 1st Round draft choice to New Orleans. 

Per Adam Schefter, the Saints believe that a deal between Hill and the team will be made prior to the new league year on March 18th.  With the reports it does appear that Hill will return to the Black and Gold in 2020.  However, whether or not Hill is the future of the franchise at quarterback is still unknown. 

What are your thoughts on the Taysom Hill's Offer? Let us know in the comment section below!

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