George Pickens' Price Tag Soars After Seahawks, Jaxon Smith-Njigba Reset WR Market

George Pickens will be seeing dollar signs after Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s new deal.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba talks to media members at the San Jose Marriott. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys have an unfortunate habit of allowing the market to get reset before securing extensions with their star players.

They allowed Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to surpass Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson as both players increased the asking price for CeeDee Lamb in 2024.

In 2025, the Cleveland Browns gave Myles Garrett a massive payday, raising the bar for pass rushers prior to Micah Parsons’ negotiations. Once Garrett pushed the average per year to $40 million, Parsons was able to ask for more, which he received with the Green Bay Packers.

At quarterback, a wave of deals for players like Joe Burrow of the Bengals, Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars helped push the market to $55 million-plus per year before Dak Prescott ultimately reset it again at $60 million annually.

You could also argue deals for Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, and Nick Bosa contributed to the inflation the Cowboys front office had to face, even though these players might not have been direct comparable to those Dallas was negotiating with.

The worst part of all this is that Jerry Jones and the rest of the decision-makers in Dallas have yet to learn. Despite being burnt year after year, they have yet to negotiate a new deal with George Pickens and the wide receiver market was just reset once again.

Seattle Seahawks reset the market with Jaxon Smith-Njigba extension

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LX. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Monday, the Seattle Seahawks came to terms with 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a four-year $168.6 million contract extension. JSN’s new deal will pay him an average of $42.15 million per season.

ESPN Sources: Offensive Player of the Year and Super-Bowl champion Jaxon Smith-Njigba reached agreement with the Seattle Seahawks on a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension that now makes him the highest-paid WR in NFL history. 

The deal averages $42.15 million per year,… pic.twitter.com/WFBtZqE4L2

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 23, 2026

This surpasses the previous high, which belonged to Chase, who is averaging $40 million per season.

With this deal done, here’s a look at the current highest-paid receivers in the NFL:

Highest paid receivers in the NFL on a per-year basis:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: $42.15M
Ja’Marr Chase: $40.25M
Justin Jefferson: $35M
CeeDee Lamb: $34M
DK Metcalf: $33M
Garrett Wilson: $32.5M

What does this mean for George Pickens?

Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens during NFC practice at the NFL Flag Fieldhouse. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As good as Pickens was in 2025, he’s not going to top the deal Smith-Njigba just received. That doesn’t mean it won’t increase his asking price, however.

Pickens is represented by David Mulugheta, who is also the agent for Micah Parsons. He’s known for getting his clients all he can, which led to Parsons being traded last season.

Mulugheta knows the Cowboys won’t pay Pickens more than Lamb, and Pickens doesn’t have the leverage for that. He can, however, fight for a deal just below Lamb’s.

Look for the asking price to be roughly $33.5 million per season, and using the $120 million in guaranteed money for JSN as a bargaining chip, Mulugheta could get Pickens more than $100 million guaranteed on a four-year deal.

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