The Dallas Cowboys now know exactly what they will have to pay in order to keep George Pickens, and it isn’t going to be cheap.
Pickens was easily the best-performing wide receiver on the Cowboys’ second-ranked offense during the 2025 regular season, and a new report from Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News on Saturday, February 21 indicates that Pickens wants to be paid like one of the best players at his position moving forward.
“George Pickens and his camp are seeking at least $30 million per year on a new deal, an asking price [that] ‘isn’t out of line’ because the WR franchise tag is projected around ~$28M,” Sportskeeda Pro Football wrote on X Saturday, citing Watkins’ report.
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The sports business website Spotrac currently projects the market value on Pickens’ next deal at roughly $30.6 million per season, which translates to approximately $122.4 million over a new four-year contract.
The wideout and former second-round pick from Georgia just played out his rookie deal and will become an unrestricted free agent when the new NFL year begins on March 11, unless the Cowboys extend him before then or use the franchise tag option to keep him under contract through 2026 on a one-year agreement.
The $30 million annual ask that Pickens is making of Dallas would place him in the neighborhood of the seventh- and eighth-highest paid pass-catchers in the league. Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions inked a deal worth just north of $30 million per season, while Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers signed a contract that pays him exactly $30 million annually.
Dan Graziano of ESPN suggested earlier in the week that Dallas could trade Pickens and a first-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for pass-rusher Maxx Crosby and a second-rounder in 2026 as a way to avoid paying Pickens on a huge contract or franchise-tagging him in the coming weeks.
“The Cowboys likely aren’t going to fork over a long-term, top-of-market deal for Pickens, and franchise-tagging him could cause more problems than it solves (as it did last year with edge-rusher Micah Parsons),” Graziano wrote. “They get back Crosby, who will make around $30 million per year for the next two years and would replace Parsons. Then, Dallas could look elsewhere for its No. 2 wide receiver.”
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