The Dallas Cowboys made it official Friday. George Pickens is not going anywhere.
Dallas placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the 24-year-old wide receiver, locking him in for the 2026 season at $28 million guaranteed.
The Cowboys’ front office has been mulling this decision for months, even pondering trading the young star.
Pickens came to Dallas last spring in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
The trade paid off immediately.
What Were George Pickens’ 2025 Stats?
In his first season with the Cowboys, Pickens posted career highs across the board. Ninety-three catches. 1,429 receiving yards. Nine touchdowns. He played all 17 games, made his first Pro Bowl, earned second-team All-Pro honors, and set a franchise record with five games of at least 130 yards receiving with a touchdown catch. He did two of those while CeeDee Lamb was sidelined with a high ankle sprain.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked at the NFL Combine this week whether Pickens could be a Cowboy long-term. His answer was just three words:
“I hope so.”
Owner Jerry Jones has been less understated. “I’m talking to George all the time by virtue of my excitement for him,” Jones said when asked if extension talks had begun.
What Is A Franchise Tag?
A franchise tag is a limited one year contract teams can place on players that may have expiring contracts in order to retain them under an ‘average’ league salary that is determined by position.
Dallas and Pickens now have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term extension. If they get a deal done before that deadline, the tag number becomes irrelevant and both sides move forward.
If they do not, Pickens plays the 2026 season on $28 million and hits free agency again next spring. This is where it gets complicated.
Pickens is reportedly seeking at least $30 million per year on a long-term deal. That would make him the ninth wide receiver in the league at that salary tier.
The Cowboys already pay Lamb $34 million annually on a four-year, $136 million deal. If Pickens signs anywhere near his asking price, Dallas will be carrying the second-most expensive receiver duo in the NFL at a combined $62 million per year.
Dallas would fall behind only the Bengals pairing of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at $69 million.
The Cowboys also have Dak Prescott at $60 million, Tyler Smith at $23.4 million, and a defense that finished 2025 as the most porous in franchise history.
The specific tag used here was the non-exclusive designation.. Under non-exclusive terms, other teams can negotiate with Pickens when free agency opens March 11.
If a team submits an offer sheet and the Cowboys decline to match, they receive two first-round draft picks as compensation. The odds of that happening are slim, but the option exists, and it keeps pressure on Dallas to move quickly toward a real contract.
Who Is George Pickens’ Agent?
There is also the matter of Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta. He also represents Micah Parsons, whose contract standoff with the Cowboys last offseason ended with Parsons being traded to Green Bay.
That negotiation left marks. Mulugheta and Dallas have unfinished history, and both sides are aware of it walking into this one.
Stephen Jones addressed the situation directly from Indianapolis.
“We feel really good about the offensive side of the ball now that we got Javonte done and we know that we’ll have George back,” he said. “Obviously we spent a lot of time on it already in the offseason, revamping the defensive coaching staff, and now we’ll take the next steps, which are to improve the personnel on that side of the ball.”
What Jones means is that the Cowboys defense is the real problem. The Cowboys cannot afford for the Pickens negotiation to become a distraction while they try to fix the other side of the ball.
This is the eleventh time Dallas has used the franchise tag in franchise history. The last player they tagged and then signed to a multiyear deal before the July 15 deadline was Dez Bryant in 2015.
The last two times they used it, Dalton Schultz in 2022 and Tony Pollard in 2023, both players left as free agents the following season.
George Pickens is 24. He just had the best season of his career. He plays next to one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He is under contract for 2026 regardless of what happens.
Related read. Bookmark Artoice today!
