The NFL has a new highest-paid receiver after the Seattle Seahawks rewarded reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Ngiba with a massive contract. The soon-to-be fourth-year wide receiver signed a massive four-year, $168.6 million contract worth an average of $42.15 million per season, nearly $2 million more than former top receiver Ja’Marr Chase made in a season.
The new contract was expected after Seattle handed him and CB Devin Witherspoon their fifth-year options on Friday. The team made it clear they were just placeholders while new deals were being worked out. With the agreement complete, there is sure to be a ripple effect on the wide receiver market, including Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, who will play with the franchise tag in 2026.
Cowboys offense status
Pickens will be due $27.3 million in 2026, which will all appear against Dallas’ salary cap this season unless a long-term deal is reached. Both sides seem to want the relationship to continue, but the Cowboys are notorious “deal-deadline” negotiators, which keeps the market widening until they’re ready to come to the table.
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So, with Smith-Ngiba on the line, where is Pickens looking for value in a new deal, and are the Cowboys willing to go there?
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is clearly on the list of highest-paid receivers, currently ranked fourth at $34 million. There is a heated debate over whether the Cowboys should let Pickens play, negotiate a long-term contract, or seek a trade with another club willing to pay Pickens.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott is undoubtedly the highest-paid player in the league, with an annual salary of up to $60 million. Dallas performed well on the offensive end last season, but the defense rarely got off the field or forced turnovers. Maybe the thinking is that he should be able to run a top-tier offense without two high-paid receivers.
But if they do want to work out a long-term deal with Pickens, where does that sit now?
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Predicting Pickens’ next contract
Back in October 2025, Cowboys Wire predicted that Pickens’ deal would bring him around $31 million per year. Then, the franchise tag price seemed higher than it actually was, with the figure being $28. That means the second tag is worth about $33.6 million, with two years of control typically being the baseline for a long-term deal.
While the annual cap hit for both tags is too high, the cash cost to the Cowboys is prohibitively high. The franchise tag is calculated based on the top five salaries over the past five years, so it won’t match market value, giving the team the upper hand in negotiations.
But what about from the perspective of Pickens compared to Smith-Ngiba?
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In terms of volume, there is little comparison between the two. Pickens has 157 receptions over the past two seasons, while Smith-Ngiba has an astonishing 236. Pickens had 13 touchdown grabs, while Smith-Ngiba had 18. But quantitative statistics don’t tell the whole story, especially considering Pickens played alongside a player like Lamb last season.
Taking a look at each player’s Pro Football Focus grades, how did Pickens fare?
Smith is clearly still the better player, with an 81.0 rating in 2024 and a jump to 93.9 in 2025. Pickens has a 2024 rating of 78.6 and a 2025 rating of 85.9. If one wants to say Pickens is graded at 97%, then Smith-Ngiba is graded at 97% in 2024, then in 2025 that grade drops to approximately 91.4% in 2025.
On a two-year basis, Smith-Ngiba’s overall grade was 87.5, while Pickens’ overall grade was 82.3, or 94%.
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Ninety-four percent of Smith-Ngiba’s new contract will pay Pickens approximately $39.6 million per year.
There’s no way the Cowboys are going to come close to that number. Do Pickens and his agent, David Mulugaeta, believe he’s willing to play for certain teams willing to pay him that much and give Dallas their draft asking price?
We still believe Pickens’ trade value is around the 21st pick in the first round.
That’s the new question, and what new deal Pickens will accept.
Based on tag precedent, the negotiated floor price could be $30.3 million. The “94 percent as good as Smith-Njigba” cap hit is $39.6 million. The median is $34.95 million, an evolution after paying Lamb $34 million two seasons ago.
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But does it make sense for Dallas?
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Will Smith-Ngiba’s new deal change the Cowboys’ pursuit of Pickens?