The San Francisco 49ers used the franchise tag on Robbie Gould on February 26, ensuring their kicker of the past two seasons would not hit free agency on March 13. The NFL announced on Friday that the 2019 salary cap has officially been set at $188.2 million. With that, the cost for franchise tagged players has been set.
It was estimated that the price to franchise tag a kicker would be around $5 million or a little over that amount. The actual cost of Gould's one-year deal with the 49ers is just under that amount at $4.971 million, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB.
As @RapSheet said, the salary cap for 2019 has been set at $188.2 million. Via a league memo, here are the official franchise and transition tag numbers sent to teams today ... pic.twitter.com/vBAozKu7OY
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 1, 2019
The 49ers used the non-exclusive tag on Gould with the hopes of negotiating a long-term contract with their kicker. The franchise tag moves the deadline to do so from March 13 to July 15. After that, Gould will have to play for the 49ers on his one-year franchise tag contract.
"We had hoped to get a deal done, and I think Robbie did, as well," general manager John Lynch said this week. "We weren't able to do that, so at that point, that decision (to use the franchise tag) became very easy for us."
Gould initially signed a two-year deal with the 49ers on March 9, 2017. The 14-year veteran completed 33-of-34 field goal attempts and 27-of-29 extra points during the 2018 season. His 97.1 field goal completion percentage last year, which led the NFL (minimum 15 attempts), set the franchise record for the highest in a single season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters this week and discussed the comfort of having a reliable veteran kicker like Gould.
"Every time we get there (inside the 30-yard line), I never think we're going to miss [the field goal]," Shanahan said. "It's a very good feeling to have as a play caller, as a coach, and that's something Robbie has given us for two years."