Cowboys get bad news with latest monster wide receiver contract extension

Feb 2, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens during NFC practice at the NFL Flag Fieldhouse at Moscone Center South Building. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As the Dallas Cowboys try and sort through working out a contract extension with franchise-tagged wide receiver George Pickens, a new wide receiver extension reported on Monday might not help their chances of getting something done.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Seattle Seahawks signed wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a monster contract extension that resets the market at the position.

JSN's deal with the Seahawks is a four-year pact worth $168.8 million, with $120 million guaranteed. The total value, annual average and guaranteed money are all records for the wide receiver position.

As former ESPN reporter and long-time Cowboys beat writer Ed Werder notes, this deal could impact the Cowboys' negotiations with Pickens.

"This contract could impact the Cowboys negotiations with franchise-tagged WR George Pickens," Werder wrote.

How this impacts Cowboys, Pickens

If Pickens is looking for top-of-the-market money, his price just went up — and it could go up even further if the Los Angeles Rams hammer out an extension with their elite wideout, Puka Nacua, who is due for one this offseason.

While nobody is expecting Pickens to reset the market with his new deal, the fact that the top of the market has gone up and everyone has been pushed down a spot behind Smith-Njigba could lead to Pickens looking for more money.

This puts the Cowboys in an impossible position.

Not only is Pickens going to be very expensive, but the Cowboys will be paying huge money to two wide receivers when you throw in CeeDee Lamb's top-five contract.

If the asking price gets out of hand, the Cowboys will not extend Pickens to a new deal, which then puts them in a scenario where he could hold out and cause a big distraction all offseason long.

The Cowboys have nobody to blame but themselves for this mess they're in and the team should still be looking for an off ramp if there is any team out there willing to trade for Pickens and extend him.

It never made sense to extend Pickens for several reasons, but namely because the veteran wideout is unpredictable, at best, and the Cowboys needed to dump their resources into the defense instead of a wide receiver who did nothing to change Dallas' playoff trajectory in 2025.

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