On one side, the Dallas Cowboys have a habit of dragging contract talks longer than they should. On the other hand, George Pickens understands the game just as well. The longer he waits, the better his price gets. This week, both of those realities showed up at the same time.

For a broader context, the wide receiver market has once again been reset. The Seattle Seahawks just handed Jaxon Smith-Njigba a four-year, $168 million extension with $120 million guaranteed. That deal pushes him to $42.1 million annually after his 2025 Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl campaign.

In simple terms, the market just moved again. Smith-Njigba is now only the second receiver to cross the $40 million per year mark, alongside Ja’Marr Chase. And once that happens, everything else starts to shift with it.

Which naturally raises the question: How does this contract extension affect the Cowboys and Pickens?

It’s as straightforward as it can be. Pickens is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. In his first year with Dallas, he put up 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. That kind of production puts you right in the middle of these conversations.

But instead of locking him up early, Dallas did what it usually does. They used the franchise tag. That keeps Pickens on a one-year, fully guaranteed $27.2 million deal for the 2026 season.

From there, the expectation was simple. Work out an extension this offseason.

The thing is, Pickens and his agent, David Mulugheta, do not need to rush. They are not trying to reset the market, but they do not have to. All they need is patience. Every new deal raises the ceiling a little more. If Pickens ever reaches the open market, that number only climbs.

And that is already happening.

Seattle has set a new benchmark. The Los Angeles Rams could be next with Puka Nacua. So while the Cowboys have control over Pickens in 2026, and even the option to tag him again in 2027, that control comes at a cost.

Because every year they wait, the price goes up.

This is not a new script in Dallas. They have done this before. CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott both went through prolonged negotiations. Now Prescott sits as the highest-paid quarterback in the league, and Lamb is comfortably among the top-paid receivers.

That is the risk Dallas is running again.

Pickens feels like the next name in that cycle. Whether the extension gets done this offseason is still unclear. But one thing is clear. The market has moved, and with it, so has Pickens’ value. Unfortunately, for now, the contract talks between Pickens and the Cowboys haven’t yet been initiated.

The Cowboys have yet to start contract talks with George Pickens

The Seahawks did what the Cowboys usually avoid. They locked in one of their top receivers at the first opportunity for an extension. And it makes sense. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off a 2025 season where he posted 119 receptions for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also winning the Super Bowl and Offensive Player of the Year.

With that kind of year, Seattle had no reason to wait. They made him the highest-paid receiver in the league, and in doing so, pushed the market forward. Take a look:

Now, even if George Pickens is not expected to reset the market, this still works in his favor. His next deal is naturally going to be higher than what it looked like before Smith-Njigba signed.

The issue in Dallas, however, is simple. Talks have not even started. According to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, there has been no real movement so far.

“At this stage, George Pickens will play under the franchise tag of $27.2 million. The Cowboys and Pickens’ agent haven’t exchanged any contract offers to merit progress toward a new deal. Jerry Jones has offered that Pickens is happy to be a Cowboy, but hasn’t indicated if Pickens is cool with the franchise tag,” Watkins wrote. “There’s an expectation that Pickens and the Cowboys will go head-to-head this summer to get him into training camp on time. That’s a gamble.”

For now, the expectations are that Pickens and his agent will look to sign a new deal this offseason only. And if not, a hold will likely come this offseason during training camp and the OTAs. Whether that happens in Dallas or not is what we shall see. For now, though, Pickens is seeing his market value increase.