Ask someone around the Cowboys about wide receiver George Pickens and the first thing they’ll often point out is how much he enjoys playing football. There’s more to Pickens than simply that, of course, but his love for the game is clearly a prominent trait.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is hopeful that what’s currently happening to Pickens won’t change that.
Pickens, like Prescott twice before, was officially franchise tagged by the Cowboys on Tuesday. The franchise tag — a non-exclusive tag — means Pickens would make $27.3 million on a one-year deal if he chooses to play on it and if he and the Cowboys can’t agree on a long-term extension by July 15. Pickens is allowed to negotiate with other teams when free agency opens on Monday, but any team that signs him would have to surrender two first-round picks if the Cowboys didn’t match that offer sheet.
It likely won’t be as simple as that, however.
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Contract negotiations between the Cowboys and star players routinely have been far from simple. Last year, the Cowboys and star pass rusher Micah Parsons had a lengthy and difficult negotiation, including a hold-in during training camp in Oxnard, Calif., before the Cowboys traded Parsons to Green Bay a week before the season. Prescott, as well as wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and former Cowboys Zack Martin and Ezekiel Elliott, have also experienced similar negotiations.
Prescott was franchise tagged twice before he signed a long-term extension with the Cowboys in 2021. He then signed another extension on the day of the 2024 season opener in Cleveland.
If any player knows about the business side, and specifically the side of doing business with the Cowboys, it’s Prescott. Which is why he had this piece of advice for his teammate:
“George lives football,” Prescott said, speaking after he helped unveil this year’s patient runway models for the annual Children’s Cancer Fund Gala. “That’s the one thing about it: ‘Don’t change your love for football. Don’t get into the business mind of this.’ He played last year on a one-year deal for not even that much. If he can go for $30 [million], whatever it is now — that’s the same thing I got when I was franchised — hey, go do it. At the end of the day, bet on yourself.”
Photos: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott makes appearance at 2026 model reveal for Children’s Cancer Fund Gala
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Pickens and Prescott formed an immediate connection last season. Pickens set career-highs in catches (93), yards (1,429) and touchdowns (9), helping him earn his first Pro Bowl invite.
Prescott made it known that he wants to continue to build that connection.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Prescott said of Pickens, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Wednesday. “Hopefully we can get him long term and sign that, but if not, the way he plays the game and the person he is, he’ll be just fine.”
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