Brandon Aubrey #17 of the Dallas Cowboys
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Brandon Aubrey #17 of the Dallas Cowboys
The conventional thinking is that the Dallas Cowboys have done what they need to do to keep star kicker Brandon Aubrey locked up for the foreseeable future. The three-time All-Pro is a pending free agent, and has been given an offer by Dallas that would make him the highest paid kicker in the history of the NFL, surpassing Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker‘s $6.4 million per year.
If that’s not enough, the Cowboys will also hit Aubrey with a second-round tender offer, worth $5.8 million for next season, that will maintain his status as a restricted free agent and allow the Cowboys to match any offer sheet coming in from elsewhere. The second-round tender also means that if a team actually does sign Aubrey, they’d have to give Dallas a second-round pick.
At most points in NFL history, with most kickers, that would be more than enough to ensure Aubrey does not leave–not team would ever want to give up a second-round pick, in addition to a hefty contract, for a mere kicker.
Schefter: Brandon Aubrey ‘One of the Great Weapons in the Game’
But hold right there, says ESPN insider and analyst Adam Schefter, who warned the Cowboys on Wednesday not to get too cute with Aubrey and his free agency. All sides agree that Aubrey has gotten an offer to make him the highest paid kicker in league history, but not all sides agree that the record contract in question for Aubrey–who has made 112 out of 127 field goals in his career–is fair.
Thus, Aubrey remains unsigned. Schefter said there is good reason for that–there maybe be teams, he said, that would be willing to send Dallas a second-rounder for their very reliable and big-legged kicker.
“I think this is one of the least talked-about interesting free-agent storylines out there. Brandon Aubrey, to me, has turned into one of the great weapons of the game,” Schefter said. “And maybe I am more interested in kickers than most people but it feels like all Dallas has to do is get to midfield—they only have to get to midfield!—and they’re within range for Brandon Aubrey. I know the kicking rules and games have changed, because so many of these guys .. can boom these long kicks.”
Cowboys Setting Up Possible Failure
Schefter said other teams around the NFL are well aware of what swiping the Cowboys star from under their noses would mean to their franchises. Aubrey is that good, worthy of a second-rounder pick in the modern NFL.
Schefter continued: “Brandon Aubrey is going to get tendered, and if the Dallas Cowboys offer him a second-round tender, I don’t know what the price of that is exactly, but if you’re a team that’s out there, wouldn’t it make sense to go pay Brandon Aubrey?
“What would you be willing to pay a guy who made a difference in every single game? Is that worth $8 million? $10 million? $12 million? What is it worth to you? Kickers are like insurance, you never know that you need one until you don’t have it, and then it is too late. To me, again, if I were in a front office, I would be spending more, more than most people would on Brandon Aubrey.”