Dallas Cowboys took a calculated risk by trading a 2026 third-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick for Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick in May. Pickens ruined his reception in Pittsburgh due to his attitude and immaturity, despite his enormous talent. The Steelers trade the equivalent of a second-round pick for Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver DK Metcalf in March and giving him a four-year contract extension that averaged nearly $33 million per year spoke volumes about Pittsburgh's disappointment with Pickens.
The 2022 second-round draft pick out of Dallas has exceeded expectations. Pickens is performing at an All-Pro level in his contract year, which will pay him $3.656 million through 2025. His 908 yards receiving is not only second on the list. NFL but it's the best a Cowboys player has ever had in his first 10 games with the team. Pickens' seven touchdowns, a career-high, are tied for third in the league and seventh with 15.7 yards per catch. His 58 receptions are outside the top 10 and rank 11th in the NFL. Pickens totaled 99 receptions, 1,544 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Pickens showed that he can be a true number one receiver. CeeDee Lambfellow Cowboys receiver missed most of four games with a high left ankle sprain. Lamb and Pickens may have become the NFL's best receiving tandem.
Equally important, Pickens was on his best behavior this season outside of being on the bench with Lamb on the first offensive series in the disciplinary action during Monday night's game against Las Vegas Raiders. Earlier this season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Pickens a model teammate.
During his weekly radio interview Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan, Jones had no qualms about having two high-priced receivers in addition to the significant financial commitment he takes on on the interior of the defensive line. Jones answered “yes” when asked if Lamb and Pickens were the best receiving duo the Cowboys have ever had.
Lamb is the third-highest paid receiver in the NFL with a four-year, $136 million extension, averaging $34 million per year, that he signed in August 2024. The deal includes $100 million in guarantees, of which $67 million was fully guaranteed at signing. At the time, both brands were the second-highest contracted wide receivers. The $67 million fully guaranteed at signing included a receiver-record signing bonus of $38 million.
Pickens said he wouldn't mind staying in Dallas about a month ago. He made winning his top priority. The Cowboys are in an uphill battle to make the playoffs with a 4-5-1 record. A strong finish to the season could help in this regard.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer is already publicly lobbying to keep Pickens in Dallas. He said on Tuesday: “I'm very much in favor of George having a long-term future with us.”
Without a new contract until early March, Pickens will be named the franchise player, given Jones' views on roster construction. The deadline for teams to use the franchise or transition tag is March 3 at 4:00 pm ET.
The 2026 non-exclusive franchise tag for wide receivers will be 9.016% of the 2026 salary cap. In 2025 it is 8.581%. If the 2026 salary cap is set at $300 million, a 7.45% increase from the 2025 salary cap of $279.2 million, then the total recipient figure would be $27.047 million.
In order to live up to Pickens' franchise status, some salary cap gymnastics will need to be performed. Dallas has the highest salary cap in the NFL for 2026 at $362.832 million, with 44 players under contract after acquiring Pro Bowl defensive tackles, according to the NFLPA. Quinnen Williamswhich will earn $21.75 million in 2026 by the Nov. 4 trading deadline. The top 51 salaries (i.e., salary cap numbers) are relevant under offseason accounting rules. There is an existing capitalization of $21.54 million that can be carried forward to 2026.
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The Cowboys routinely shift current cap obligations into the future through contract restructurings. Defender Dak Prescott has the fourth-highest salary cap in the NFL for 2026 at $74,068,430. Lamb, who makes $38.6 million in 2026, is second among wide receivers. Offensive defender Tyler Smith ranks fifth in the league in 2026 offensive linemen. That's $27,502,300. The Cowboys could create approximately $67.5 million in cap space by restructuring their contracts. This would be a good start to addressing the 2026 salary cap problem.
The Cowboys essentially have two No. 1 receivers and will likely have to pay accordingly to keep Pickens long-term. Pickens' deal range is likely between Tee Higgins$28.75 million per year, which sets the bar for No. 2 receivers, and Lamb's $34 million per year. Higgins signed a four-year, $115 million contract with Cincinnati Bengals in March after being named franchise player for the second year in a row. The deal will be worth up to $121.8 million through incentives. Higgins is currently the 11th highest paid wide receiver in the NFL.
Dallas won't want to place Pickens above Lamb in the wide receiver salary hierarchy. Lamb was coming off the best receiving season in Cowboys history when he signed his contract. In 2023, he had 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns and earned first-team All-Pro honors. His 135 receptions not only led the league, but also tied for the sixth-most receptions in an NFL season. Lamb was second and third in the NFL, respectively, in yards and touchdown catches.
Pickens and Lamb have played six full games together this season. Lamb has 40 receptions for 557 yards and two touchdowns while being targeted 61 times. Pickens caught 34 passes for 481 yards with two touchdowns. In those six games he was targeted 48 times.
It's no surprise that Athletes First's Trevon Smith, who is Pickens' official agent according to the NFLPA, is looking to make money from the top five wide receivers for his client. Garrett Wilson is the league's fifth-highest paid receiver at $32.5 million per year. Jets signed Wilson, 25, to a four-year, $130 million extension with $90 million guaranteed, of which $38,324,819 was fully guaranteed at signing in July. He got the deal after a career-high 101 receptions, 1,104 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2024.
Wilson was in the same class as Pickens. He was selected 10th overall in the 2022 draft. Wilson is a few months older. Pickens will turn 25 next March, the day after the franchise expires.
Metcalf's deal, worth nearly $33 million per year, could be a big deal for Pickens since that's what his former team was willing to pay another receiver to replace him. There are $80 million guaranteed, of which $60 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The final $20 million in guarantees in 2027 are for personal injury only. Metcalf's contract is a bit overloaded. The first three new years average just under $32.175 million per year, as 2029, the final year of Metcalf's deal, will be $35.5 million.
The NFL's 10 highest-paid receivers signed contracts worth just over $1.212 billion in new money over a combined 37 new contract years, averaging roughly $32.75 million per year. This is consistent with the Wilson and Metcalf deals. These 10 wide receiver contracts average just over $83 million guaranteed and approximately $55.725 million fully guaranteed at signing.
There are interesting dynamics in any Pickens negotiation. Smith works closely with David Mulugeta of Athletes First. Jones' penchant for trying to circumvent the agency process by dealing directly with players was the catalyst for a bitter contract dispute that led to the creation of the All-Pro Edge Rusher. Micah ParsonsMulugeta's client, sold Green Bay Packers shortly before the start of the regular season.
Jones downplayed the idea that the fallout from Parsons' trial could negatively impact the possibility of a deal with Pickens' camp. Athletes First also represents Smith. The Cowboys had no problem extending Smith for four years and $96 million, making him the league's highest-paid offensive player at $24 million per year, about two weeks after Parsons was traded.
The Bengals have the most money spent on their wide receiver duo, with a total of $69 million per year for Ja'Marr Chase and Higgins. Chase is the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL. At the same time Higgins signed, he received a four-year extension worth $161 million, averaging $40.25 million per year. Chase's deal includes $109.8 million in guarantees, of which $73.9 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The Cowboys won't be far behind the Bengals in terms of combined average annual salaries for their wide receiver tandem if a long-term deal can be reached with Pickens in the next few months.
