Ever wonder what if you ran the QFL transition and franchise designations, with a few other prompts, thru AI?
The QFL has many traditions.
The $100 salary cap. The rookie draft. The annual auction. The inexplicable contract questions that make you question whether Ian actually read the Constitution.
And, of course, the commissioner being approximately 14 business days late with important league information.
Normally, franchise and transition designations are announced alongside the keepers. This year, however, the commissioner apparently chose the traditional QFL approach: “I’ll get to it.”
Eventually, he did.
According to the QFL Constitution, transition players enter the auction at their previous-year salary, with their original team retaining the right to match the winning bid or accept a second-round rookie pick. Franchise players enter at the average of the top three salaries at their position, with the same right to match—or collect two first-rounders.
So, after months of waiting, speculation, and probably several unanswered text messages, here are the official designations.
TRANSITION TAGS
| Team | Player | Tender |
|---|---|---|
| QOJIRA | Rashee Rice | $4 |
| Qbola | DJ Moore | $11 |
| DeuceQs | Zay Flowers | $4 |
| TenQ | Kyren Williams | $10 |
| QTang | Dak Prescott | $5 |
| QTang | D’Andre Swift | $9 |
| LilQ | Joe Burrow | $9 |
| LilQ | Chargers D | $5 |
A few things immediately jump out.
QOJIRA putting a $4 tag on Rashee Rice is either tremendous value or the beginning of a very complicated conversation with the league office.
Qbola at $11 for DJ Moore feels considerably less like a tag and considerably more like a hostage negotiation.
Meanwhile, QTang tagged both Dak Prescott and D’Andre Swift, reminding everyone that having two transition tags is not a loophole. It is, in fact, one of the actual rules. For once, QTang has been vindicated by the Constitution.
And then there’s LilQ, who tagged Joe Burrow and the Chargers D. Nothing says “elite roster construction” quite like protecting your franchise quarterback and your defense with the same level of urgency.
FRANCHISE TAGS
| Team | Player | Tender |
| QOJIRA | Trey McBride | $10 |
| Qbola | CeeDee Lamb | $18 |
| TenQ | Puka Nacua | $18 |
| FahQ | Nico Collins | $18 |
The franchise list is considerably more expensive—and considerably more terrifying.
Qbola’s CeeDee Lamb at $18 looks like the kind of number that will make the rest of the league nod thoughtfully before immediately deciding to bid $19 just to be annoying.
TenQ getting Puka Nacua at $18 is another major development. If anyone wants him, they’ll need to pry him loose with two first-round picks—or, alternatively, convince TenQ that there is something more valuable than Puka Nacua. Good luck with that.
FahQ and Nico Collins at $18 rounds out the $18 Club, an exclusive organization whose only current benefit is paying $18.
And then there’s QOJIRA, who managed to secure Trey McBride for $10 while simultaneously holding a $4 transition tag on Rice. This is either brilliant roster management or the sort of thing that looks brilliant until Week 4.
The Early Winner: The Commissioner
Not because of the tags.
Not because of some brilliant strategic maneuver.
Simply because he finally released the information.
The QFL Constitution has been online since the invention of parchment, and yet somehow the league still had to wait until August 20 to find out who was tagged.
But that’s the beauty of QFL football. It combines the strategic complexity of an NFL front office with the administrative efficiency of a fantasy league run from someone’s garage.
And honestly?
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now that the tags are finally public, the only question remaining is:
Who is going to make the first stupid auction bid?
QSN will be watching.
The commissioner probably won’t.