Cliff Avril will be in a Lions uniform again, at least for the 2012 season. Apparently, Avril and the Lions couldn’t work out a deal that satisfied both sides as far as time and money goes. Avril wants to sign a long-term deal with the team, and has stated this in the past along with the fact that he doesn’t want to be tagged.
So what does the franchise tag mean? Basically it’s a one-year deal that pays the player the average salary of the top 5 highest payed players at his position for that year. That’s going to be $10.6 Millions dollars for defensive ends this season.
The lions don’t have much money under the cap this off-season with their other team signings. I’m thinking that tagging Avril is a sign of things to come. They’re either thinking about making a serious run at the Super Bowl this year, or they’re going to give him that big contract he’s looking for next off-season. Either way, it’s a win for the fans.
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