George Pickens
Getty
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.
When it comes to the very best teams in NFL, there is a certain way of doing business that seems like a common thread amongst them.
When it comes to the biggest deals — the mega-deals — the best teams almost always act decisively. They identify who they need to pay and don’t make a huge deal out of it.
That’s not how the Dallas Cowboys operate and they could be on the cusp of one of the more tense negotiations in recent memory this offseason with NFL All-Pro wide receiver George Pickens, who finished 3rd in the NFL with 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Thursday that, should the Cowboys place the franchise tag on Pickens for 2026, it could likely result in a “standoff” between player and team.
The franchise tag for Pickens in 2026 would pay him an estimated $28 million.
“Pickens wants to stay with the Cowboys, but he’s not going to take less than market value,” Fowler said on Thursday. “He’s not going to cut them any deals.”
The market value for Pickens won’t be a dime under $30 million.
The Cowboys are already paying another NFL All-Pro wide receiver, Cee Dee Lamb, $34 million per year on a 4-year, $136 million contract extension he signed in August 2024.
“There isn’t a team currently paying 2 wide receivers over $30 million each,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said. “That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be and that there won’t be soon. This seems like a situation where it could happen.”
Cowboys Facing Major Financial Roadblock
There’s actually a chance the Cowboys really want to pay Pickens, and want to do it right now. Even if that’s the case, there’s a major roadblock standing in the way.
As of February 12, the Cowboys were approximately $66.8 million over the salary cap, meaning there are some financial gymnastics that need to take place to even make a deal for Pickens work — conservatively something along the lines of a 4-year, $120 million contract.
The NFL salary cap hopping up from $279.2 million to somewhere around $305 million should take care of a big chunk of that, but they’ll have to work some more magic to free up money for Pickens.
Pickens’ Agent, Jerry Jones Have Bad Blood
While we kind of know the drama Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brings into contract negotiations, things could get especially testy with Pickens, who is represented by super agent David Mulugheta.
Mulugheta, who also represents former Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, has an intensely adversarial relationship with Jones. You might go as far to say the 2 men hate each other by some of the things said before and after Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers in August 2025.
If the Cowboys do put the franchise tag on Pickens by the March 3 deadline, the best advice to give him might be just to cool his heels while the Cowboys get their finances sorted — what would essentially be just a weeklong wait until free agency opens on March 11.
Whether he does that or not is another story. Pickens has his own volatile history to account for, including a series of bizarre on-field and off-field meltdowns that have resulted in over dozen fines over his first 4 seasons.