One thing to know: Saints tag Jimmy Graham, but at what position?

The Saints applied the franchise tag to free-agent-to-be Jimmy Graham on Friday and for good cause. New Orleans' most dynamic offensive weapon posted over 3,600 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns during the last three years, so the team's effort to keep him around makes total sense. What doesn't make total sense at this point in the process is what position Graham is considered to play. While he is listed by the team as a tight end, he takes most of his snaps from the wide receiver position and his numbers compare favorably to the top wideouts in the league. Since franchise-tag contracts are determined by averaging the top 10 salaries at the players' position, Graham stands to make considerably more money if he can escape the tight end label -- $5.3 million more to be exact.

While the Saints might call their 6-foot-7 playmaker a tight end, the NFL Management Council is the body that will ultimately determine the positional category to which Graham belongs. Mike Florio says this potential issue has been brewing for years with similarly versatile pass-catchers like the Rams' Jared Cook and the Packers' Jermichael Finley. The imminent decision in Graham's case will set an important precedent for future positional hybrids -- an increasingly common commodity in today's NFL.

NFL officially applies tight end tag to Jimmy Graham
Posted by Mike Florio on March 3, 2014, 8:01 PM EST

The league has officially announced the full list of franchise-tagged and transition-tagged players for 2014. The biggest name belongs to the player for whom the biggest fight is looming.

The NFL’s Management Council has decided to deem Jimmy Graham a tight end for purposes of the franchise tag. It sets the stage for a grievance to be filed by Graham and the NFLPA arguing that, based on the language of the labor deal, Graham is actually a receiver.

The league’s release even quotes the relevant language from the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states that the tender will be based on “the position . . . at which the Franchise Player participated in the most plays during the prior League Year.”

Graham will argue that he lined up more as receiver than as a tight end in 2013. The Saints will argue that tight ends routinely line up in the slot or split wide, but that this doesn’t make them something other than tight ends, since only tight ends line up tight to the tackle.

In other words, the Saints hope to persuade the System Arbitrator to find that, when Graham lines up in the slot or split wide, he’s still participating in those plays as a tight end.

Whatever the outcome, the issue has been lingering for the last few years. At some point, a resolution is needed, either through arbitration or an amendment to the labor deal.

For the Saints and Graham, more than $5.2 million hangs in the balance. While the two sides can resolve the situation at any time with a long-term deal, Graham could decide to let it ride. Regardless of the outcome, he’s going to make far more than the $3.3 million he has received in four NFL seasons

Sounds like this could get ugly. They need to sign him to a new contract so they can avoid all this. I doubt he re-signs with them if they "cheat" him out of $5.3 million. He is a tight end but they use him as a wide reciever.