Unlike Micah Parsons’ Situation, Jerry Jones Wants Relationship With George Pickens to Be All Honey Amid Lingering Contract Talks

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is willing to negotiate with George Pickens agent in order to keep the wide receiver in Dallas for a long time.

Unlike Micah Parsons’ Situation, Jerry Jones Wants Relationship With George Pickens to Be All Honey Amid Lingering Contract Talks

George Pickens and Jerry Jones inside the circle (Image via IMAGO)

In Short
  • George Pickens had an impressive 2025 NFL season with 93 receptions, 1,429 receiving yards, and 9 touchdowns.
  • The Cowboys placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Pickens, allowing him to negotiate with other teams while earning $28 million for the 2026 season.
  • Jerry Jones expressed a desire for a positive relationship with Pickens, indicating openness to contract discussions with his agent.

George Pickens made it clear that he wants to play for the Dallas Cowboys after putting on some great shows during the 2025 NFL season. Pickens ranked in the top 5 with 93 receptions, amassed 1,429 receiving yards, and 9 touchdowns.

Now, just because he wants to stay in Dallas does not guarantee he has the free will to follow through with it. The situation is far too complicated. And it involves a staggering amount of money.

Per Over The Cap, the Cowboys roughly have $26-$39 million in cap space. As the number suggests, the Cowboys can not sign Pickens to a long-term contract. Doing so will take away their spending power required to strengthen other areas.

That said, the Cowboys can create up to $100 million in cap space by restructuring the contracts of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Tyler Smith. Without wasting much time, owner/general manager Jerry Jones completed the procedure of making changes to Prescott’s contract. This opened an additional $36.6 million in cap space for the Cowboys to work with.

Shortly after, the Cowboys placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Pickens. The Pro Bowler will earn $28 million for the 2026 season. However, as it is non-exclusive, Pickens can still speak with other NFL teams.

Should Pickens sign an offer sheet with another team, the Cowboys will have the right to match the offer or decline to do so and receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

Todd Archer of ESPN wrote

If the Cowboys choose not to match the offer from the other team, Pickens will be allowed to leave. In exchange, the Cowboys will accept only a couple of first-round draft picks.

Jerry Jones is ready to have a contract talk with George Pickens’ agent

Last year, the Cowboys lost a valuable asset in Micah Parsons. It happened after Jones refused to negotiate with Parsons’ agent. Despite Jones offering a better wage scale, Parsons forced a trade to the Packers.

Unlike Micah Parsons' Situation, Jerry Jones Wants Relationship With George Pickens to Be All Honey Amid Lingering Contract Talks
#George Pickens (Image via IMAGO)

While Pickens has yet to reach the same level of stardom as Parsons, the Cowboys consider the Georgia man an invaluable member of the team. In a recent interview with Jon Machota of The Athletic, Jones made it clear that he is open to speaking with Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta, who also represented Parsons.

I want our George Pickens relationship to be all honey.

Jones said

He also picked out a catchy name for their relationship: “Honey and money.”

According to Spotrac, Pickens is projected to sign a $30 million per year deal. His contract evaluation is projected at four years, $122.4 million. Pickens will surely love to have his future secured rather than wait a year. That said, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones revealed that the young wideout was visibly happy to hear that the Cowboys had placed a franchise tag on him.

[George Pickens] was fired up that he wasn’t going to be going anywhere. He was very fired up about his future with us. We felt like he wanted to be in Dallas. He certainly said that to Jerry [Thursday]. Jerry just said he was on cloud nine that he was going to be a Cowboy again.

Stephen Jones said while appearing on the Rich Eisen Show

Despite the early signs, the Cowboys must stay vigilant because there’s always the chance of hold out. It is inconvenient and tends to hog all the attention. If Pickens truly wants to stay with the Cowboys, then there should not be any issues.

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