Jerry Jones Reiterates Cowboys ‘Want’ George Pickens Despite Gambling With Non-Exclusive $28 Million Tag

George Pickens will likely play under a nearly $28 franchise tag after Jerry Jones could not come to terms with a long-term contract.

Jerry Jones Reiterates Cowboys ‘Want’ George Pickens Despite Gambling With Non-Exclusive $28 Million Tag

George Pickens and Jerry Jones (Image via Nick/X/Imago)

In Short
  • Jerry Jones placed a non-exclusive franchise tag worth nearly $28 million on wide receiver George Pickens.
  • The Cowboys are negotiating a long-term deal with Pickens while expressing a desire for him to remain with the team.
  • Dallas faces a $56.1 million deficit in salary cap space, requiring restructuring of contracts to accommodate Pickens' tag.

This offseason, one of the primary decisions Jerry Jones had to make was regarding star wide receiver George Pickens, whose rookie contract ended last campaign.

Since he is a restricted free agent, the Dallas Cowboys had first dibs on him, and even though there were rumors that the 24-year-old was seeking $40 million a year, the franchise was not willing to do so.

It then became inevitable that they would slap the franchise tag on him, which means that they would get to observe Pickens for another season.

With question marks still surrounding his attitude towards his daytime job, some did not want the Cowboys to bother placing the franchise tag. But Jerry Jones eventually did.

Next season, the Georgia Bulldog will earn $27.298 million. Even though it is still a colossal figure, especially when compared to what his previous contract was, it seems the billionaire owner is ‘happy’ that he managed to keep one of the offense’s most important cogs.

I did visit with George to tell him what we were going to do today. I told him how excited we are, and that he was going to have a future with the Cowboys.

Jerry Jones told reporters

This was the 83-year-old reiterating that the Dallas Cowboys ‘want’ George Pickens for the long term. He then mentioned that they are still negotiating a long-term deal.

If they cannot come to a conclusion, then the Alabama native will be placed under the tag, and they will continue negotiations. However, Jones left out the ‘non-exclusive’ part of this franchise tag.

Jerry Jones is gambling with George Pickens’ tag

It so happens that the nearly $28 million franchise tag that Jerry Jones placed on George Pickens is not exclusive. Rather, it is non-exclusive, which means other teams can negotiate a contract with him.

Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones
Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones (Image via Imago)

As per the NFL’s rules, if the said player is under the non-exclusive tag and signs an offer sheet with another team, the original team, in this case, the Dallas Cowboys, will have five days to match the offer.

If they choose not to, then the Cowboys will receive two first-round picks as compensation. If that were to happen, then Jones would receive those two first-rounders after sending a 2026 third-round selection and a 2027 fifth-round selection to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

However, the situation can flip if George Pickens decides he wants to leave the Cowboys, which would then force Jerry Jones to negotiate with another team for inferior picks.

Either way, the owner-cum-GM will likely be the winner. If the pass catcher stays on the tag and then becomes a problem off-the field, Jones will just not give him a new contract.

If Pickens performs and behaves well, and the Cowboys go deep into the playoffs, any new contract would not only make financial sense but also be logically right.

If neither of these happens, the Cowboys can still get some draft picks. Or Jones will at least not be painted as the villain when he does not offer another contract.

Jerry Jones has to do a lot of work to free up cap space

Now that they have decided on placing the nearly $28 million franchise tag on George Pickens, Jerry Jones has to figure out how to create cap space to pay that salary.

The NFL announced that this year’s salary cap would be $301.2 million. Despite that, as per Over The Cap’s Jason, the Dallas Cowboys are still $56.1 million in the red.

That means the man who has recently negotiated gas deals worth billions will have to work his magic, restructuring as many contracts as he can to clear some space.

With the likes of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb heading the Cowboys’ cap allocations, expect Jones to be working with their representatives to find common ground.

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