The Saints have already used the tag on Brees for 2012, meaning he can't negotiate with another team and could be forced to settle for a one-year, $16.3 million deal if he cannot reach a new long-term deal by a July 16 deadline specified in the league's collective bargaining agreement.
System arbitrator Stephen Burbank's ruling Tuesday said if New Orleans tries to tag Brees a second year in a row, he would be entitled to a 44 percent raise to about $23.5 million because it would be his third-career franchise tag. The NFL had argued Brees would be due a 20 percent raise because it would have been only his second franchise tag with one team.
Burbank, however, ruled that while the NFL's CBA has some ambiguity on the matter, it is clear that the overarching purpose of the language regarding multiple franchise tags is meant to protect players from being denied their rights to free agency for an undue length of their careers.
''The arbitrator properly rejected the NFL's strained interpretation of the CBA language, which ignored the fact that a franchise player designation is a narrow exception to the overall free agency structure,'' the NFL Players Association said in a written statement after Burbank's ruling. ''This ruling will help all franchise players in the future. We are very happy that Drew Brees has clarification on this matter, and we hope that it facilitates a successful negotiation for Drew and the Saints.''
Brees has so far skipped the Saints' offseason practices while holding out for a new long-term contract with New Orleans.
New Orleans designated Brees, 33, its franchise player in March after the club was unable to reach a new long-term extension with the record-setting quarterback before his previous six-year, $60 million contract expired.
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