Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys have officially placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on George Pickens ahead of the 2026 NFL season. Now, the major challenge for the teamās ownership will be reaching an agreement with the wide receiver so he signs a long-term contract before the July 15 deadline.
That move guarantees that the Cowboys retain Pickensā rights and that the star cannot test free agency in the coming weeks. In addition, they are automatically obligated to pay him close to $28 million for the upcoming season as one of the top five players at the position. By the way, under this tag, Pickens can listen to offers, but Dallas will have the opportunity to match them. If that does not happen, the Cowboys would receive two first-round picks as compensation if the player leaves.
However, the announcement will not sit well in Pickensā camp. The player is expecting a multi-year deal with a lot of guaranteed money. After proving with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas that he is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, George will not want to earn less than names like Justin Jefferson, JaāMarr Chase, or CeeDee Lamb.
Will George Pickens sign a contract extension with Cowboys?
For now, George Pickens is not close to signing a contract extension at all with the Cowboys and, after the franchise tag is officially in place, the wide receiver is most likely to skip all offseason activities with the team as a form of protest if he is not given a major contract.
How much money does George Pickens want from Cowboys?
George Pickens will likely begin negotiations using CeeDee Lamb as a benchmark. His teammate signed a four-year, $136 million contract in 2024. It will be very difficult for him to accept anything less than that.
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Furthermore, in a very important detail, Pickensā agent also has Micah Parsons as a top client. We cannot forget that David Mulugheta had an extremely complicated negotiation with Jerry Jones that ended with the defensive star being traded to the Packers. In the wide receiverās case, he will not back down either.
Money benchmark for George Pickens
For all practical purposes, Pickens and Mulugheta will take into account that Justin Jefferson earns $35 million annually and that JaāMarr Chase reset the market with $40 million per season. Based on that, and considering the massive salary cap problems the Cowboys are dealing with, it appears it will be another controversial and lengthy offseason for Jones with one of his stars.
If Jerry wants to keep one of the best offenses in the NFL intact with Dak Prescott, Lamb, and Pickens, he will have to find a way to give the former Steelers player a contract extension.
