The Dallas Cowboys took care of Javonte Williams' contract and squatted on George Pickens' rights with the franchise tag while they try to lock down the wide receiver long term. Next on the to-do list is a multiyear deal for star kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said last week that the club has a standing offer to the restricted free agent.
"I think he's outstanding," Jones said, via the team’s official website. "Love his story, love the fact that the story is with the Cowboys. We feel good that what we are talking about is an appreciation of what he can do for us. That's a way of, not trying to negotiate with anything I might say here, but we've got a good offer on the table for him."
Aubrey famously played soccer, not football, in college and went on to play briefly in the United Soccer League before being released in 2018. In 2022, Aubrey joined the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. From then on, his trajectory skyrocketed. He joined the Cowboys in 2023 and has since been one of the most accurate kickers in the league, with a booming leg that makes 60-plus yarders look routine.
The unconventional journey to the NFL leaves Aubrey financially disadvantaged. In three years, he's made less than $3 million total ($2.695 million, per Over The Cap).
The kicker won't hit the open market unfettered either. As a restricted free agent, the Cowboys can place a tender on the kicker to ensure they get something in return if Aubrey were to sign with another team. A second-round tender would pay the kicker $5.8 million. The Cowboys would receive a second-round pick if another team signed Aubrey to a contract and Dallas declined to match it.
The second-round tender figure alone would make Aubrey the third-highest-paid kicker in the NFL behind Super Bowl winners Harrison Butker ($6.4 million) and Jake Elliott ($6 million).
Given that Aubrey has become a massive weapon, putting the Cowboys in potential scoring range the moment they hit midfield, it seems a fait accompli that he'll become the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. The question is how much beyond Butker he'll fly.
"We've been in talks with Aubrey even before the season started," Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones told reporters last week. "It's been a journey, but we haven't been able to get to a point where we can all agree. Haven't gotten done, but we'd love to get him done."
