The Dallas Cowboys took a calculated risk by trading a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick in May. Pickens had worn out his welcome in Pittsburgh because of his attitude and immaturity despite his immense talent. The Steelers trading the equivalent of a second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver DK Metcalf in March and giving him a a four-year contract extension, averaging nearly $33 million per year in the process, spoke volumes about Pittsburgh’s frustrations with Pickens.
The 2022 second-round pick is exceeding expectations in Dallas. Pickens is performing at an All-Pro level in his contract year, which pays him $3.656 million for 2025. His 908 yards receiving are not only second in the NFL but the most any Cowboys player has ever had in his first 10 games with the team. Pickens’ seven receiving touchdowns, a career high, are tied for third in the league while ranking seventh with 15.7 yards per catch. His 58 receptions fall just outside of the top 10 at 11th in the NFL. Pickens is on pace for 99 receptions, 1,544 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns.
Pickens demonstrated that he can be a true No. 1 wide receiver while CeeDee Lamb, his Cowboys receiving counterpart, missed the better part of four games with a high left ankle sprain. Lamb and Pickens arguably have become the NFL’s best receiving tandem.
Equally important, Pickens has been on his best behavior this season outside of being benched along with Lamb for the opening offensive series in a disciplinary action during Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Pickens an exemplary teammate earlier this season.
During Jones’ weekly Tuesday radio interview on 105.3 The Fan, he didn’t have any qualms about having two high-priced wide receivers on a go forward basis in addition to the significant financial commitment he is making on the interior of the defensive line. Jones replied “yes” when asked whether Lamb and Pickens are the best receiving duo the Cowboys have ever had.
Lamb is the NFL’s third-highest-paid wide receiver with the four-year, $136 million extension, averaging $34 million per year, he signed in August 2024. The deal has $100 million in guarantees, of which $67 million was fully guaranteed at signing. At the time, both marks were the second most ever in a wide receiver contract. The $67 million fully guaranteed at signing included a wide receiver-record $38 million signing bonus.
Pickens said he wouldn’t mind staying in Dallas about a month ago. He put winning as his top priority. The Cowboys are fighting an uphill battle to make the playoffs with a 4-5-1 record. A strong finish to the season would help in this regard.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer is already publicly lobbying for Pickens to remain in Dallas. He said on Tuesday, “I’m very in favor of George having a long-term future with us.”
Absent a new deal before early March, Pickens will be designated as a franchise player given Jones’ thoughts about roster construction. The deadline for teams to use a franchise or transition tag is March 3 at 4 p.m. ET.
The 2026 non-exclusive franchise tag for wide receivers projects to 9.016% of the 2026 salary cap. It’s 8.581% in 2025. If the 2026 salary cap is set at $300 million, a 7.45% increase over 2025’s $279.2 million salary cap, the wide receiver figure should be $27.047 million.
Some salary cap gymnastics will need to be performed to accommodate a Pickens franchise tag. Dallas has the NFL’s most 2026 salary cap commitments at $362.832 million with 44 players under contract, according to NFLPA data, after acquiring Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who is making $21.75 million in 2026, at the Nov. 4 trade deadline. The top 51 salaries (i.e.; salary cap numbers) matter under offseason accounting rules. There is $21.54 million of existing cap space that can be carried over to 2026.
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The Cowboys routinely push current cap obligations into the future by restructuring contracts. Quarterback Dak Prescott has the NFL’s fourth highest 2026 salary cap number at $74,068,430. Lamb’s $38.6 million 2026 cap hit is second among wide receivers. Offensive guard Tyler Smith has the league’s fifth highest 2026 cap number for an offensive lineman. It’s $27,502,300. The Cowboys can create approximately $67.5 million of cap space by restructuring their contracts. That would be a good start to addressing the 2026 salary cap overage.
The Cowboys essentially have two No. 1 wide receivers and will likely have to pay accordingly to keep Pickens long term. The range for a Pickens deal is probably between Tee Higgins’ $28.75 million per year, which sets the bar for No. 2 wide receivers, and Lamb’s $34 million per year. Higgins signed a four year, $115 million contract from the Cincinnati Bengals in March after being designated as a franchise player for a second straight year. The deal is worth up to $121.8 million through incentives. Higgins is currently the NFL’s 11th-highest-paid wide receiver.
Dallas will be reluctant to put Pickens above Lamb in the wide receiver salary hierarchy. Lamb was coming off the greatest receiving season in Cowboys history when he signed his deal. He had 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023 while earning first-team All-Pro honors. His 135 receptions not only led the league but were the sixth most ever in an NFL season. Lamb was second and third in the NFL, respectively, in receiving yards and touchdown catches.
Pickens and Lamb have played six complete games together this season. Lamb has 40 receptions for 557 yards and two touchdowns while being targeted 61 times. Pickens has caught 34 passes for 481 yards with two touchdowns. He has been targeted 48 times in those six games.
It wouldn’t be surprising for Athletes First’s Trevon Smith, who is Pickens’ agent of record, according to the NFLPA, to seek top five wide receiver money for his client. Garrett Wilson is the league’s fifth-highest-paid wide receiver at $32.5 million per year. The Jets signed Wilson, who is 25, to a four-year, $130 million extension with $90 million of guarantees where $38,324,819 was fully guaranteed at signing in July. He got the deal after career highs of 101 receptions, 1,104 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 2024.
Wilson was in the same draft class as Pickens. He was 2022’s 10th overall pick. Wilson is a few months older. Pickens turns 25 next March one day after the franchise tag deadline.
The Metcalf deal, at nearly $33 million per year, could be an important data point for Pickens since that’s what his former team was willing to pay another wide receiver instead of him. There are $80 million in guarantees, of which $60 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The last $20 million of the guarantees in 2027 are for injury only. Metcalf’s contract is slightly backloaded. The first three new years average just under $32.175 million per year since there is $35.5 million in 2029, the last year of Metcalf’s deal.
The NFL’s 10 highest-paid wide receivers are signed to contracts with just over $1.212 billion of new money collectively for 37 new contract years to average approximately $32.75 million per year. This is in line with Wilson and Metcalf’s deals. These 10 wide receiver contracts average slightly more than $83 million in guarantees and approximately $55.725 million fully guaranteed at signing.
There is an interesting dynamic looming over any Pickens negotiations. Smith works closely with David Mulugheta at Athletes First. Jones’ penchant for trying to circumvent the agent process by dealing directly with players was a catalyst for the bitter contract dispute that led to All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, a Mulugheta client, being traded to the Green Bay Packers shortly before the start of the regular season.
Jones has downplayed the notion that there will be any residual effects from the Parsons ordeal that will negatively impact the ability to get a deal done with Pickens’ camp. Athletes First also represents Smith. The Cowboys didn’t have any problem signing Smith to a four-year, $96 million extension, which made him the league’s highest-paid offensive guard at $24 million per year, about two weeks after Parsons was dealt.
The Bengals have the most money devoted to a wide receiver duo with a combined $69 million per year for Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins. Chase is the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. He received a four-year, $161 million extension, averaging $40.25 million per year, at the same time Higgins signed. Chase’s deal has $109.8 million of guarantees where $73.9 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The Cowboys won’t be too far behind the Bengals in combined average yearly salary for a wide receiver tandem if a long-term agreement can be reached with Pickens in the next few months.
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