Cowboys history points to $28 million George Pickens contract decision

One helpful aspect of Jerry Jones having been in charge of the Dallas Cowboys for so long is that history can often inform what comes next.

That could certainly be true with the contract negotiations that are on deck between the Cowboys and impending free agent George Pickens.

Pickens put together a career year in his first season in Dallas, and now someone is going to pay him quite handsomely. Will it be Jones?

History says the Cowboys will pay Pickens, but maybe not in the way he'd like.

"The strong belief is the Cowboys will use the franchise tag on him at a cost of about $28 million," ESPN's Todd Archer wrote on Wednesday. "Since 2018, the Cowboys have used the franchise tag six times, and the last time they signed a player to a long-term deal before the July deadline was Dez Bryant in 2015."

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Pickens, of course, would prefer a long-term deal.

He just set career highs with 93 catches, 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.

Archer warns, though, that Pickens may want as much or more than the $34 million per year that CeeDee Lamb is getting on his current contract. And that'd be quite the money to shell out for Pickens after concerns about his effort level and character were part of the reason the Steelers traded him to Dallas in the first place.

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The franchise tag is a logical first step, if nothing else. It doesn't stop the Cowboys from continuing to negotiate a long-term contract with Pickens.

What the franchise tag does accomplish is preventing Pickens from signing with a different team in the meantime. And given how big-time a player Pickens was in 2025, it doesn't make sense for the Cowboys to let him get away now.

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