{"id":191768,"date":"2026-03-05T14:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/191768\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:14:15","slug":"dak-prescott-offers-advice-for-george-pickens-as-wr-navigates-new-franchise-tag-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/191768\/","title":{"rendered":"Dak Prescott offers advice for George Pickens as WR navigates new franchise tag reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask someone around the Cowboys<\/a> about wide receiver George Pickens<\/a> and the first thing they\u2019ll often point out is how much he enjoys playing football. There\u2019s more to Pickens than simply that, of course, but his love for the game is clearly a prominent trait. <\/p>\n

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott<\/a> is hopeful that what\u2019s currently happening to Pickens won\u2019t change that.<\/p>\n

Pickens, like Prescott twice before, was officially franchise tagged <\/a>by the Cowboys on Tuesday. The franchise tag \u2014 a non-exclusive tag \u2014 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\u2019t 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\u2019t match that offer sheet. <\/p>\n

It likely won\u2019t be as simple as that, however. <\/p>\n

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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., <\/a>before the Cowboys traded Parsons to Green Bay a week before the season.<\/a> Prescott, as well as wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and former Cowboys Zack Martin and Ezekiel Elliott, have also experienced similar negotiations. <\/p>\n

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. <\/a><\/p>\n

If any player knows about the business side, and specifically the side of doing business with the Cowboys, it\u2019s Prescott. Which is why he had this piece of advice for his teammate:<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge lives football,\u201d Prescott said, speaking after he helped unveil this year\u2019s patient runway models for the annual Children\u2019s Cancer Fund Gala. \u201cThat\u2019s the one thing about it: \u2018Don\u2019t change your love for football. Don\u2019t get into the business mind of this.\u2019 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 \u2014 that\u2019s the same thing I got when I was franchised \u2014 hey, go do it. At the end of the day, bet on yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott makes appearance at 2026 model reveal for Children’s Cancer Fund Gala<\/p>\n

\"EmmieView Gallery<\/p>\n

Pickens and Prescott formed an immediate connection last season.<\/a> Pickens set career-highs in catches (93), yards (1,429) and touchdowns (9), helping him earn his first Pro Bowl invite. <\/p>\n

Prescott made it known that he wants to continue to build that connection. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a hell of a player,\u201d Prescott said of Pickens, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Wednesday. \u201cHopefully we can get him long term and sign that, but if not, the way he plays the game and the person he is, he\u2019ll be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ask someone around the Cowboys about wide receiver George Pickens and the first thing they\u2019ll often point out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1638,1044,114,102,113,104,103,80],"class_list":["post-191768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-brief","tag-cowboys","tag-dak-prescott","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}