How Does Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s Record-Setting Contract Affect George Pickens’ Negotiations With the Cowboys?

After his Super Bowl run with the Seahawks, a first All-Pro selection, a second Pro Bowl nod, and leading the league in receiving yards, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was made the highest-paid wideout in the league. With his four-year, $168.6 million deal, Smith-Njigba now becomes the second WR to earn more than $40 million per year after Ja’Marr Chase. Now, the question is, will George Pickens try to match or surpass that AAV with the Cowboys?

LA Rams wideout Puka Nacua is up for an extension as well and is expected to land a deal similar to Smith-Njigba’s. He too had a dominant season and, like Njigba, racked up 1,700-plus yards. Both tallied 10 touchdowns. Pickens, meanwhile, had a 1,400-yard season and recorded nine touchdowns. Not too shabby. And at 25, just a year older than the other two, Pickens could be a long-term weapon for the Cowboys.

That’s why former Cowboys wide receiver Jesse Holley, who played in Dallas for three seasons, believes Pickens’ agent would be doing him a “disservice” if negotiations don’t start around the amount that reset the market as the league high.

“If George Pickens’ agent doesn’t come in and try to get to that number, he’s doing his client a disservice… His negotiation should start… whether I agree with it, you agree with it, you agree with it… his negotiation should start at $41.5 million. That’s where it should start,” Holley opined via DLLS Sports.

But Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb, who has been a consistent bright spot for the team, is making $34 million per year, and Pickens was not expected to surpass that. He has been projected to sign a deal close to $30 million, and even then, the team would need significant restructuring.

That’s why Jesse Holley says Pickens’ next deal doesn’t have to reset the market. The negotiations will likely start at the top, and after the Cowboys come in low, both sides will have to meet in the middle.

“I am not saying he is going to get it, but I would want someone representing me, no, start up there. Don’t start at $30 million. Start up there. Because the Cowboys aren’t going to start up there. They’re gonna start down here, where the floor is at. And we just, incrementally, get closer and closer and closer,” said the analyst.

Holley went on to argue that Jerry Jones and company messed up by waiting too long, and with Smith-Njigba resetting the market, it’s inevitable they’ll have to pay Pickens more.

“But you let some leaves fall and now Jackson Smith-Njigba, he is the highest paid receiver in the NFL and now you have to contend with those numbers.”

For now, the non-exclusive franchise tag remains, with the Cowboys and George Pickens having until July 15 to negotiate a long-term deal. He will have a guaranteed $27.2 million salary if a long-term deal isn’t reached. The Cowboys would likely prefer to keep it this way, pay the receiver this amount, and revisit things next year.

But will Pickens be happy with that situation? Only time will tell.