The Dallas Cowboys remained true to their word, and now the window is officially closed until January. Dallas made it very clear this past spring that they would not be engaging in long-term contract negotiations with George Pickens this offseason, and on Wednesday the deadline passed on the option. The NFL has a self-imposed July 15 deadline, after which teams who have a player under the franchise tag can no longer negotiate long-term deals. As of 4 pm Eastern time, the option is now off the table.
As there’s zero chance the Cowboys are going to give Pickens a raise at this point, the fifth-year wideout is set to earn $27.3 million in salary; a mountain in comparison to what he earned across the four seasons of his second-round rookie contract signed with his original team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And with that, Phase No. 3 of the Cowboys acquisition of Pickens is now complete. On to Phase No. 4.
First was the initial acquisition, sending a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick to acquire the former University of Georgia star. Next was getting him an opportunity to perform with a top-tier quarterback like Dak Prescott, unleashing a 1,400-yard, nine-score seasons. The third phase was slapping the franchise tag on Pickens, effectively using the same tool as a fifth-year option that is often placed on first-round draft picks.
On a recent appearance on Crown Global Media’s Doing Alright podcast, NFL beat writer Jane Slater stated multiple times, the thing that gave the Cowboys pause in hitching their wagons was the breaking of team rules during their trip to face the Las Vegas Raiders, and the fact that he roped in the player whom they already paid the big contract to, CeeDee Lamb.
The pause had the Cowboys do a smart thing, placing the non-exclusive tag on Pickens and having the rest of the league prove to the player and his agent that his reputation was still in play. His performance on its own would’ve validated a team agreeing to a deal with Pickens and offering the Cowboys high-pedigree trade compensation, but no offers came.
Certainly, there were teams that would’ve paid the money by itself, but the trade kicker was too much, giving the Cowboys the upper hand for these next few phases.
The Cowboys have as much contractual control over Pickens they could want and can keep Pickens on the roster for several years at less than market value.
Combined with his $3.6 million price tag last season, the Cowboys got two years of All-Pro receiver play (projecting a similar output in 2026) for a third-round pick and $15.5 million a season.
That Average Annual Value (AAV) would rank 29th among NFL wideouts if it were a two-year deal. Even adding in a second tag in 2027, which would be for 120% or $32.8 million, Pickens would still be far below the current going rate. $63.7 million across three years is still just a $21.2 million AAV.
That’s still outside the Top 20 of current wideout averages.
And get this, if the Cowboys did the normally unthinkable and use the rarified third franchise tag on Pickens, the one year amount would be an outrageous 144% of the prior salary, or $47.2 million. In 2028 that would likely qualify as the most expensive per-year number in the league. Jaxon Smith-Njigba just became the highest-paid WR ever at $42.15 million on average.
Puka Nacua may take that top slot, but he checked himself into rehab this spring. Is Chris Olave that guy? Likely not going to move the needle that much ahead. $47.2 million for Pickens would be outrageous in that light. But from the perspective of how much Dallas would have paid across four years since the trade?
$111 million. That’s still just a $27.7 million average across four seasons.
Even if one were to look at new money from this point forward, excluding the rookie-deal 2025 salary, three franchise tags still comes up to $107.3 million across three years, or a $35.8 million average. That’s steep, and clearly higher than Dallas may want to venture, but it’s a year-by-year deal where there’s never a commitment to future years.
Two tags? No brainer at $60 million total, $30 million per season. Would they love to spread out the cap hit across future seasons? Of course, but of all the teams who know how to manage the single-year big tag hit, it’s the Cowboys.
The Cowboys can get off of the ride at anytime. They can allow Pickens to reach free agency next year, knowing his next contract would guarantee a shot at a top-100 pick in compensatory return. They can tag Pickens again next spring, have him return for 2027 or work out a trade for anything better than that comp pick; and the exchange would almost certainly be much, much better. They can even tag him a third time and keep him for 2028 if they are willing to carry that much cap hit for one player.
That isn’t likely to be in the cards, but it does exist in the hand the Cowboys are holding.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Phase No. 3 complete, Cowboys now move forward with true Pickens eval
