cowboys broncos collusion?

[pbmax]

Yes and no. The franchise tag is an issue because both teams can make their player play for significantly less than the players think they are entitled, which is because of Calvin Johnson's contract. Johnson's contract is the reason tagging made sense for both players. No team wants WR salaries to go there yet. Heck, if a WR is worth that, what will players who play important positions want?

In your construct, the only part that doesn't apply to all positions and all top FAs is Calvin Johnson's contract. I hold he is the independent variable here. All positions are subject to the tags. All tags make less than the average value of the top contract.

But Calvin Johnson's deal is stratospheric compared to other WR deals currently.