While the Dallas Cowboys currently have 21 players set to enter some form of free agency, most believe that list will dip by one in the very near future, they are expected to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens, who earned a trip to the Pro Bowl and a Second-Team All-Pro selection after a 2025 campaign in which he set new career-highs across the board with 93 receptions for 1,429 yards with nine touchdowns.
For those unfamiliar with the process, the non-exclusive tag, the most common of the three types (exclusive and transition are the two others, but those won't apply to Pickens), is a one-year tender that keeps a player from hitting the open market. The player can still sign an offer sheet with another team, but the original team has the right to match the offer or receive two first-round draft picks in compensation if the player leaves, which is a rarity.
Once a player is tagged within the designated period, which runs from February 17 through 4:00 p.m. Eastern on March 3 this year, the two sides have until that same 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on July 15 to come to terms on a long-term contract. If that doesn't happen, the player suits up for the season on the tag.
As for compensation, the non-exclusive tag takes the average of the top five salaries at a player's position over the past five seasons, or 120% of their prior salary, whichever is greater.
Dallas Cowboys WR George Pickens is estimated to make $28.824 million on the franchise tag
In Pickens' case, the former obviously applies, although Jerry Jones would absolutely love to get GP back in Big D for one season at $4,387,200, which would be the 120% of his 2025 salary. Instead, however, Over The Cap projects the 2026 tag figure for wide receivers to be $28,824,000.
As Spotrac projects Pickens to receive $30,606,359 per season on a new contract, the Cowboys obviously won't be saving much money, but what the tag does is give them more time to work out a long-term deal if that's they want to do.
Money will need to be moved around either way, as Dallas is currently projected to be more than $29 million over the 2026 cap figure, but contracts can be restructured (both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb have already offered to do so), and players can be cut to create more cap space.
Pickens has expressed his desire to return to the Cowboys, and Jones has stated publicly on several occasions that he'd love to have the former Steeler back. We now just wait to see how things play out.