It’s not every day that a kicker makes headlines for his contract demands, but that’s exactly what’s happening this week with Brandon Aubrey. The Cowboys are trying to get a long-term deal done with their kicker and they’re even willing to make him the highest-paid player ever at his position, but a deal hasn’t gotten done because of Aubrey’s asking price.
The 30-year-old reportedly wants to be paid somewhere close to $10 million per year. On one hand, that’s a totally absurd asking price, especially when you consider that it would be a 56% jump over the current highest-paid kicker in the NFL in Harrison Butker, who’s making $6.4 million per year. To put that in perspective, that would be like Lamar Jackson trying to get a new deal that pays him $93.6 million per year, which would be a 56% jump over the current highest number for a quarterback.
It’s also an interesting asking price because of how much leverage the Cowboys’ currently have in the situation. Since Aubrey is a restricted free agent, the Cowboys will have to place a tender on him if a long-term deal doesn’t get done by the start of free agency on March 11. If the Cowboys place a second-round tender on him, that means that other teams will be able to make him an offer, and if he leaves, his new team will have to send a second-round pick to Dallas. If he stays in Dallas and plays under the second-round tender, that means he’d make $5.8 million for the 2026 season.
If that happens, the Cowboys could hit him with two franchise tags in a row, so the next three years would look like this:
2026 salary: $5.81 million (second-round tender)
2027 salary: $6.97 million (franchise tag)
2028 salary: $8.37 million (second franchise tag)
If you’re the Cowboys, there’s no reason to meet his $10 million asking price because you essentially control him over the next three years at $7.05 million per year. If Aubrey leaves after being hit with a tender, then the Cowboys will get a second-round pick out of it (or a first-round pick if they were to use the first-round tender), so it wouldn’t be a total loss.
The Cowboys have historically played hard ball with several players, including Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, before overpaying for them down the road, but that’s not the case with Aubrey. The Cowboys have reportedly offered him $7.5 million per year, which seems more than fair. However, this is one of the few situations where it makes sense for both sides to be stuck in.
Why Aubrey’s asking price is reasonable
Aubrey is arguably the most valuable kicker in the NFL and he wants to be paid like it. From his standpoint, it makes sense to ask for a price that the Cowboys likely won’t pay because that all but guarantees that he’ll get to test the waters of (restricted) free agency.
Aubrey will get to see what his value is and if he doesn’t like what he sees, he can go back to Dallas and sign for $7.5 million per year, because it’s unlikely the Cowboys would pull their offer. Basically, this allows him to get the best of both worlds. If he leaves Dallas, it will be because another team was willing to meet or come close to meeting his $10 million per year asking price.
So is he worth $10 million per year? I would say the answer is yes. The smartest front offices in the NFL understand the importance of kicking and if you need proof, just look at the last few Super Bowl teams. The Chiefs have played in three of the past four Super Bowls and they have the NFL’s highest-paid kicker in Butker. The Eagles have played in two of the past four Super Bowls and they have the second-highest paid kicker in Jake Elliott ($6 million per year). Elliott has struggled in the regular season over the past two years, but he hasn’t missed a beat in the playoffs and he’s been one of the best postseason kickers in NFL history.
Seahawks kicker Jason Myers came close to winning Super Bowl MVP this year after hitting a Super Bowl record five field goals in Seattle’s 29-13 win over the Patriots. Myers is currently the eighth-highest-paid kicker in the NFL, but when he signed his most recent extension in 2023, he was the second-highest-paid kicker.
The teams that taking kicking seriously are the teams that spend money on the position or spend a draft pick on the position. Of the past 15 teams to draft a kicker, all of them have made the playoffs within two years of drafting the kicker. That’s not to say that the kicker led them to the postseason, it just means that the smartest front offices are focusing on the position and the teams with the smartest front offices are usually the ones making it to the postseason.
If you don’t want to draft a kicker, which can be a crapshoot, then you need to pay big when one of the top ones becomes available and that’s what’s about to happen with Aubrey.
For Aubrey to be worth $10 million, that means someone has to be willing to pay him that much and there will almost certainly be at least one front office that will be willing to pull the trigger.
Just consider these two situations:
- The Rams might have gone 15-2 with a better kicking situation last season.
- The Falcons probably would have won the NFC South with a better kicking situation in 2025.
In scenarios like that, $10 million almost seems like a bargain (And on that note, we’ve got some potential landing spots for Aubrey here).
The other thing working in Aubrey’s favor is that he’s the ultimate kicking weapon:
- In just three seasons, he has already made more 60 yard field goals (6) than any other kicker in NFL history. Only one other active player has more than two and that’s Matt Prater (3).
- During a Week 14 game against the Lions, he became the first and only player in NFL history to hit three field goals of 55 yards or more in the same game. Even in this era of long distance kicks, no one had ever done that until Aubrey came along.
Aubrey has also been automatic from inside 50 yards. Sometimes, you’ll have a kicker with a big leg who struggles with his accuracy, but that’s not the case here.
- In 2025, there were 17 kickers who attempted at least 25 field goals from 50 yards and in. Aubrey was one of just two who hit 100% of their attempts (Ka’imi Fairbairn was the other), so he was automatic.
- In 2025, there were 12 field goals hit from 60 yards or more and Aubrey has three of them. Jacksonville’s Cam Little was the only other player with more than one, so two players combined for five of the 12 kicks from 60 yards or more. Basically, if you have one of those two players, you have monstrous leg up on the competition and every NFL team should be looking to get a leg up.
There seems to be a belief that every kicker is hitting from 60 yards in the current NFL, but that’s simply not the case. Last season, there were only nine kickers who hit from 60 yards or longer and there were only four who hit from 63 or longer. Since Aubrey’s first year in the NFL, there have only been 21 field goals of 60 yards or more and Aubrey has six of them. No other kicker has more than two.
Kickers are certainly hitting 60-yard field goals at a higher rate, but they’re still a rare occurrence, unless you’re Aubrey. The Cowboys kicker is so good from that range that he’s the only player in NFL history to hit from 60 yards in the first quarter of a game. What that tells you is that he’s the only kicker playing right now who has the total trust of his coach to hit from that range.
You can point to his field goal percentage of 85.7% in 2025 and say he’s struggling, but that’s not really the case. He’s just asked to do things that no other kicker is asked to do. Aubrey went 36 of 42 in 2025 with all six misses from 51 yards or longer (He went 10 of 16 from that range). Aubrey is so good that it almost works against him, because he gets sent out for more long-range kicks than anyone else. One of those six misses was from 68 yards, which would have tied the NFL record. He also has a 70-yard miss in his career.
Despite those long misses, he’s still the fifth-most accurate kicker in NFL history. If you only count field goals from 55 yards and in, Aubrey is the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, so you get the close-range accuracy with the bonus of a guy who can hit long-range bombs on a regular basis.
If anyone deserves $10 million, it’s Aubrey. The more realistic scenario is that he ends up getting $8 million or $9 million per year, but he’s going to eventually get paid and he’s going to deserve every penny he gets.
One thing to remember with Aubrey is that he didn’t start playing in the NFL until he was 27. He’s now 30 years old and he’s only likely only going to get one or two long-term deals, so it makes even more sense for him to make sure he’s getting top dollar with this deal.
When you’re the best at something in the NFL, you need to make sure that you’re paid like the best and that’s what Aubrey is trying to do here.
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