The Jets are keeping the man they call “Folk Hero” around for at least one more season.
The team applied the franchise tag to kicker Nick Folk on Friday after he hit three game-winning field goals in 2013. Folk was scheduled to become a free agent on March 11. The estimated franchise tag salary for kickers is $3.556 million, according to the NFL Network, although the franchise numbers are not official yet.
Folk, 29, had one of his best seasons last year in his fourth year with the Jets. He hit 33 of 36 field goals for a career high 91.7 percentage, and was 3-for-3 on field goals of 50 yards or more. He started the season by making 23 consecutive field goals, a franchise record to begin a season. He also had a career-high 30 touchbacks on kickoffs.
Folk played last season on a one-year, $780,000 deal, so he is receiving a significant raise. But he still may be unhappy. At the end of the season, Folk said he felt like he had earned a long-term deal.
“I think so,” Folk said. “I think I’ve done my part, but if that’s what they want to do, then that’s what they want to do. We’ll see what happens over the next couple months. I’d love to be here, love to be back. It’s a lot of fun to be here, to me it’s a great place to be.”
It is possible the Jets and Folk could still agree to a long-term deal, but Folk now has lost any leverage he had with the inability to play other teams against the Jets. The two sides have until July 15 to reach a deal or Folk must play under the franchise tag.
Folk started the 2013 season off by kicking a game-winning field goal in Week 1 against the Buccaneers. He did the same later in the season against the Falcons and Patriots.
The Jets have not used the franchise tag since 2011, when they applied it to linebacker David Harris.