While training camps have opened around the NFL, a few contract situations continue to linger around the league. Players like Dak Prescott, Brandon Aiyuk, CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and Haason Reddick are entering contract years, want new long-term deals and have yet to receive them.
These are clearly valuable, Pro Bowl-caliber players. However, their teams' reluctance to lock them up long-term suggests they don't view them as true franchise players worth building the rest of the roster around.
True franchise players are the most indispensable of the NFL's elite. We're talking about Hall of Fame-caliber stars who can lift their teams in the biggest games and change outcomes multiple times per seasons.