The Dallas Cowboys seemingly don't have any intention of offloading Brandon Aubrey. But after they traded Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers, Cowboys fans' angst won't dissipate until Aubrey signs on the dotted line.
That’s not to say Dallas wants to trade Aubrey, but no one wants to see the All-Pro play out the 2026 season on a second-round tender. Unfortunately, that’s where this is headed if the two sides don’t find common ground.
It doesn’t sound like talks have progressed, leaving questions about where Aubrey’s head is at. But in an appearance on The Dumb Zone podcast, he sent a clear message to Cowboys fans about where he wants to be (h/t Brandon Loree, Blogging The Boys).
“Just know that I wanna be here in Dallas, and seems like the Cowboys want me here in Dallas so something will happen eventually.”
Brandon Aubrey only wants to play for the Dallas Cowboys
While it never seemed like Aubrey wanted to leave, a groundswell of fan uproar followed a (false) report that his agent, Todd France, demanded $10 million per year. Aubrey seemingly set the record straight about that report on the podcast.
"It's been a lot of incorrect information and just people clinging on to random numbers that have been thrown out. There's incomplete information dumped from probably both sides at this point. And people are trying to make a story out of scraps of information and filling in holes that they don't have details on.
So I don't care about all that. Just focus on kicking the football. If I have a good year, it'll all take care of itself. So that's what I'm going to focus on."
There’s a strong case that Aubrey is the best kicker in the world, but that price would shatter the market.
As of this writing, not a single kicker makes more than $7 million annually. Aubrey may deserve to reset the market, but it has to be within reason. He’s not $3 million better than the league’s other elite kickers, and no serious contender should be paying $10 million per year at the position.
The Cowboys reportedly have an offer on the table that would make Aubrey the highest-paid kicker, though it falls short of $7 million annually. It’s no surprise that didn’t satisfy his camp, leaving both sides searching for common ground.
For Dallas' sake, hopefully that falls somewhere between $7-8 million.
Aubrey technically regressed last season, but he was still awesome, drilling 36-of-42 field goals, including three from beyond 60 yards. He's already broken a handful of NFL records in three seasons.
For once, the Cowboys hold all the leverage. Even so, it’s a positive sign for negotiations that Aubrey has no intention of kicking anywhere else.