July 15 is an important date on the NFL’s offseason calendar. This year, there’s only one team and one player for whom the date has importance.

Next Tuesday is the deadline for signing any franchise-tagged player to a long-term deal.

For the Chiefs and guard Trey Smith, it means the window closes in six days on turning his one-year, $23.4 million franchise tender into a multi-year contract.

Smith signed the one-year contract in early March, making the payment fully guaranteed. And that makes sense, for two reasons. First, because the franchise tag for offensive linemen doesn’t distinguish between tackle, guard, and center, the tackle market drives the number. For Smith, his $23.4 million instantly makes him the highest-paid guard in the NFL — by $2.9 million.

Second, the franchise tag can be rescinded before its signed. That has happened three times. Twice, Chiefs coach Andy Reid did it. (Both were during his time with the Eagles.)

For the Chiefs and Smith, the challenge becomes turning that large one-year payment into a multi-year deal. The usual approach is to fully guarantee the player the first year and second year (at a 20-percent raise over the first year), with two or three non-guaranteed years on the back end.

For Smith, that would mean $51.48 million fully guaranteed over the first two years. Which would equate to an average for the first two years of $25.74 million.

Absent a multi-year deal, Smith would be on track for the franchise tag again in 2026, at a price of $28.08 million. If not tagged, he’d be eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Given the magnitude of the tag and the realities of the guard position, it could be a challenge to get a deal done before Tuesday of next week. For Smith, the choice is to proceed at $23.4 million in 2025 with either $28.08 million or a trip to the open market in 2026 — or to accept the team’s best offer on a multi-year deal.

Basically, the team needs to offer him enough to get him to trade in the very large bird currently in his hand.

A sixth-round pick from Tennessee in 2024, Smith became an instant starter at right guard. He has started 67 of 68 regular-season games in his four-year career. He also has taken 100 percent of the snaps in 13 postseason games.