Jerry Jones' George Pickens Contract Negotiation Word Salad Shades David Mulugheta

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones raised some eyebrows when discussing contract negotiations with George Pickens and agent David Mulugheta.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys - George Pickens contract negotiation drama isn't going away anytime soon. Since NFL owners arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, for the annual league meetings, the Pickens contract situation has been front and center.

Pickens is coming off a career year, finishing eighth in the league with 93 receptions, third in receiving yards (1,429), and eighth in receiving touchdowns (9). He set himself up for a massive payday, but was instead rewarded with the franchise tag.

Under the tag, Pickens is guaranteed approximately $27.3 million for the 2026 season.

Without a long-term deal, there is no guarantee that Pickens will be a part of the Cowboys' offseason workout program, and recent comments from owner and general manager Jerry Jones raise even more concern. Jones was discussing Pickens at the owners meetings, and delivered an answer the only way he can: causing mass confusion and some head-scratching.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said there haven’t been any recent contract talks with George Pickens. He’s not sure if Pickens will attend offseason work. He likes that Pickens has been working with Dak Prescott. Jones says Pickens remains part of Dallas’ future beyond this season pic.twitter.com/JjBD7Ot1kO

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 31, 2026

"Well, I don't and won't get into our planning and structure of our team and our cap, but the franchise tag is an integral part of all teams, but certainly an integral part of our strategy over the next two or three years as we look at how to keep the best players we can have," Jones said.

While that was a standard answer from an NFL owner and your typical Jerry Jones word salad, he decided to throw in some shade at superagent David Mulugheta, with who he has had some very public issues in the past.

"If he worked without an agent, he’d save a lot of money," Jones said about contract talks running through an agent. "With me.”

That collective groan you heard was Cowboys Nation saying, "Not again." Last offseason, Jones and Mulugheta had a very public back-and-forth over Micah Parsons' contract negotiations, with the two sides trading shots in the media. Ultimately, Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers before the start of the regular season.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Now, with the way he is publicly discussing negotiations with Mulugheta once again regarding Pickens, it doesn't look like Jones has learned any lessons.

If there's any silver lining, it's that the Cowboys have been adamant about wanting Pickens to return to the team for the long term. But in order to do so, they may need to lock Jerry away and let someone else handle the negotiation process.

Stephen, let's see what you got.

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