Cowboys Announce They Won’t Negotiate Extension For George Pickens This Year

The Cowboys used the franchise tag on WR George Pickens this offseason, and reports have indicated they won’t negotiate a long-term deal for him. Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones confirmed on Wednesday that they plan to have Pickens play the 2026 season under the franchise tag and they won’t be negiating a new deal for him this year: “We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George Pickens (play under the franchise tag). There won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal,” per Jon Machota. 

Jones added that a second large contract at the position and the “newness” of Pickens on the team were reasons behind their decision with Pickens, per Todd Archer.

Jones added that talks with Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta, were “super cordial.”

In recent weeks, Jason La Canfora reported that there’s a sense from his sources around the league that Dallas was not planning to do a long-term deal with Pickens this offseason, but instead to tag him again in 2027. 

La Canfora explained that owner Jerry Jones didn’t sound bullish about the chances for an extension when speaking with reporters at the recent NFL owners meetings, and his sources picked up on that. 

When combined with a multitude of other factors, including questions about Pickens’ makeup, Jones’ history with the tag and his history with Pickens’ agent (David Mulugheta, who also represented Micah Parsons), the tea leaves might be pointing toward Dallas going year by year with Pickens. 

“Pay-as-you guy is a smart strategy with Pickens,” one longtime NFL contract negotiator said to La Canfora. “And Jerry’s never shy about applying the tag. Even if Pickens keeps it together (in 2026), there would be some obvious concerns about how he would operate with the kind of guarantees that would come with a top-of-market deal… I don’t believe Jerry subscribes to the calculus of having two receivers on a mega deal and his quarterback at the top of the market.”

This source pointed out to La Canfora how Jones talked about the next couple of seasons with the tag, not just 2026. 

“I don’t and won’t get into our planning and structure of our team and our cap, but the franchise tag is an integral part of all teams, but certainly an integral part of our strategy over the next two or three years as we look at how to keep the best players we can have relative to the cap,” Jones said. 

Dallas franchised Pickens at a figure of $27.298 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season. Pickens hasn’t signed the tender yet and probably won’t for a while, as he can’t be fined for missing team activities if he’s not technically under contract. 

Pickens, 25, was a preseason All-American second-team selection in 2021 and a second-team preseason All-SEC at Georgia. The Steelers used the No. 52 overall pick on him in the 2022 NFL Draft.

He was in the final year of a four-year $6,752,177 rookie contract that included a $2,090,674 signing bonus when he was traded to the Cowboys after the draft for a future third-round pick. 

Dallas franchised Pickens at a sum of $27.298 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season.

In 2025, Pickens appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys and caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.