Blogging The Boys
If the Cowboys opted to franchise George Pickens, how much it would be?
The Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from NFL playoff contention in Week 16 and now have just one game remaining in the 2025-26 campaign. After the team’s Week 18 showdown against the New York Giants, the Cowboys can officially turn their attention to the offseason.
It’s going to be an interesting offseason for the Cowboys front office, with several key decisions to make regarding the roster and coaching staff. Among the key decisions for the team are the futures of star players like breakout wide receiver George Pickens, leading rusher Javonte Williams, and kicking sensation Brandon Aubrey.
Unfortunately for Dallas, there is only one franchise tag at the team’s disposal, so the remaining players will either hit the open market or agree to long-term deals. Currently, it looks like Pickens is the leader in the clubhouse for the franchise tag. But how much would that cost the Cowboys?
George Pickens franchise tag cost
According to Over the Cap, the projected franchise tag figure for a wide receiver in 2026 is $28.046 million. For Pickens’ new deal, meanwhile, Spotrac projects Pickens could land a five-year, $153.7 million contract on the open market, which averages $30.8 million per year. That would make Pickens the sixth-highest-paid receiver in the league, per Over the Cap.
The figures are close enough that if the Cowboys are serious about retaining Pickens for the future, they will be able to do so.Dak Prescott has already campaigned for Pickens’ return, along withBrian Schottenheimerand Jerry Jones, who have both said they would love to bring the star wideout back. Regardless of what direction the Cowboys go with Pickens, his future appears to be in Dallas, at least for the 2026 season. Let’s just hope something can be worked out long term.
In such a short time, George Pickens has already etched himself among the top seasons in the franchise’s history.
This time last season, the Cowboys failed to qualify for the playoffs, and eventually got HC Mike McCarthy fired for it. McCarthy shouldn’t take all the blame, but there always needs to be a scapegoat. QB Dak Prescott missed time during the season, and that definitely contributed to the 7-10 record.
However, even when Prescott was healthy, the team was not playing well enough to make any noise in the playoffs. The running game wasn’t what it needed to be. Neither was pass protection, and one of the biggest flaws was not enough weapons on the outside. For the first time in what feels like forever, Jerry Jones and the rest of the front office staff seemed to have listened to the noise outside the building....
