How George Pickens' Cowboys Future Is Impacted By Terry McLaurin Contract

When the Dallas Cowboys traded for Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens, many were skeptical of the move due to George being in the final year of his rookie deal.

That means after 2025, he'll be set for a big payday, and we know that Dallas and big pad days are anything but a smooth ride.

With Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and hopefully Micah Parsons all making top-of-the-market money, along with potentially Tyler Smith, DaRon Bland, and Brandon Aubrey (all in line for extensions), the Cowboys' salary cap "pie" is beginning to look a little thin.

Pickens was already looking at a deal in excess of $25 million APY based on his production in Pittsburgh, and a good season with the Cowboys would see that number trend north.

Now we know the rough ballpark of a Pickens extension thanks to Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin's new three-year, $96 million extension with $32 million APY.

Pickens could be seen as a "better" player than McLaurin in some circles, and now the floor for a deal is $32 million a year. George smartly wants to wait until the end of 2025 before discussing any deal, giving him the best chance to cash in in free agency.

It was always a question mark if Dallas was ever going to extend Pickens (keep in mind his agent is David Mulugeta), and now we might have gotten the tea leaves on what a new deal would look like.

And we say with some confidence that a deal for Pickens in Dallas, thanks to McLaurin's contract, looks a lot tougher to complete.