This shouldn't be a surprise but one wrinkle in Dwayne Bowe receiving the franchise tag from the Kansas City Chiefs is that it's of the non-exclusive variety (as opposed to...exclusive). The KC Star's Adam Teicher noted this in his story on Bowe.
The non-exclusive is a little cheaper for the team than the exclusive, which one reason some teams choose that route.
The non-exclusive also allows the player to shop his services. Yeah, that's right -- another team could still sign Dwayne Bowe. For instance, Bowe and/or his agent can talk to other teams about a new contract, and those teams can even offer Bowe a contract. The Chiefs can match any contract offer Bowe receives. However, if the Chiefs don't match that contract offer, Bowe can sign with another team.
The reason that won't happen? Any team wishing to sign Bowe would have to pay him and then give the Chiefs two first round picks, which just isn't going to happen. Besides, the Chiefs would probably take two first round picks in exchange for Bowe in a heartbeat.
So Bowe can technically be had by another team. Just no one would make that move.
21 players received the franchise tag this year. Only one -- Drew Brees -- received the exclusive franchise tag.