The New York Giants have officially used the non-exclusive franchise tag on defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.  Pierre-Paul will be paid $14.813M this upcoming season while he and the team try to negotiate a long term extension.

Pierre-Paul was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 10th.  Pierre-Paul is the first Giant since Steve Weatherford (2012) and Brandon Jacobs (2009) to receive the franchise tag.

Statistically, Pierre-Paul had one of his finest season with big blue.  He totaled 12.5 sacks in 2014, 9 of which occurred in the last 5 games of the season, while he also had a team high 21 quarterback hits for the Giants vaunted pass rush.  That is Pierre-Paul's second highest sack total as he racked up 16.5 sacks in the 2011 season on the way to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

Since being drafted as the 15th overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, Pierre-Paul has racked up a total of 42.0 sacks, placing him 8th all-time on the Giants career list.

With the recent release of DE/LB Mathias Kiwanuka, the Giants had to keep Pierre-Paul at all costs to maintain the pass rush this team so heavily relies on.

Pierre-Paul had been suffering from back issues the last two seasons, leaving many to wondering why the Giants haven't let the pass rusher test the free agent market.  This move now allows the Giants time to finally negotiate a deal to keep Pierre-Paul in New York, but at what price?

More From 104.5 THE TEAM