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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys this offseason has been the status of star wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens, who is set to hit the open market for the first time in his NFL career, put up career-highs in his first season with the Cowboys in 2025.
Pickens made 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, one of the most productive stat lines in the league.
Now that he has a breakout season under his belt, his market value has shot up astronomically, with Spotrac predicting he’ll be worth a deal north of $120 million in free agency.
Dallas however, still has a trick up its sleeve; it can franchise tag Pickens to keep him from hitting the open market while keeping him with the team for the next season. Cowboys Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones confirmed that the team plans to place the franchise tag on Pickens within the next week.
#Cowboys COO Stephen Jones confirmed they will place the franchise tag on WR George Pickens in the next week.
“We want him here,” he said, via @judybattista.
“We think the world of him. We want him here,” Jones said. “We always want guys here. We’ve franchised players before, obviously we want him here working with the team. It will work itself out in the coming weeks.”
Cowboys Plan to Franchise Tag George Pickens
A franchise tag is a chess piece each team gets every offseason that allows them to retain a player who is due for a big contract for one season at a high price. This keeps the player from hitting the open market.
What this effectively does, is it keeps Pickens from going on the market on March 11, when free agency officially opens. From then until July 15, the Cowboys and Pickens can negotiate a long-term contract; if both sides don’t come to an agreement, then Dallas could only sign him for one season. What typically happens when teams get into this squabble with players is that after that one season, the player is out the door, seeing no future with the team.
March 3 is the final day that a franchise tag can be placed on a player by any team, so Jones has just over a week to come through on his promise.
Pickens Reportedly Seeking $30 Million Per Year
Pickens and his camp are reportedly looking for a contract worth $30 million per season, likely in the three to five year range.
George Pickens and his camp are reportedly seeking at least $30M per year on a new deal, per @calvinwatkins
The WR franchise tag is projected to be ~$28M.
If Pickens were to acquire a deal like that from the Cowboys or any other franchise, it would put him among the top eight highest paid receivers in the NFL. Ja’Marr Chase is currently the highest paid WR in AAV at over $40 million per year.
$30 million per season would be comparable to receivers like Garrett Wilson ($32.5 AAV), Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million AAV), and Tee Higgins ($28.75).
You could very easily argue that Pickens is certainly in a class with all three of those players, and maybe even better than one or two of them. After a season where he finished third in the league in receiving yards, it’d be hard to dispute.
Pickens has certainly played his way into a big deal, so now the pressure is all on the Cowboys to work it out with him.
Matt Skillings Matt Skillings is a Boston based sports journalist and a graduate of UMass Amherst, where he majored in journalism and communication. Matt covered the UMass men’s ice hockey team for three years for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. He was also a media intern for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League for two summers. Matt has additional bylines with the New England Hockey Journal, the Boston Globe and MassLive. More about Matt Skillings
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