When the NFL adopted free agency in 1994 after decades of litigation, owners were afraid of losing star players. To mitigate this risk and ensure teams retained some modicum of their control over players, the league simultaneously instituted the franchise tag as well as compensatory picks. Using a secret formula based on salary, playing time, and postseason honors, 32 picks in the upcoming draft, between the third and seventh rounds (and a maximum of four per team), are distributed as compensation to teams that lost more good free agents than they signed the previous offseason.
How the NFL’s Comp Pick Game Is Robbing Veteran Free Agents
