Cowboys, Jerry Jones make bold George Pickens call before NFL Draft

Cowboys, Jerry Jones make bold George Pickens call before NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Dallas Cowboys have a contract conundrum to fix. Jerry Jones and the front office thought that a franchise tag would solve their woes about the George Pickens situation. However, things took a big turn before the NFL Draft. Now, both Stephen Jones and Athletes First's David Mulugheta are involved.

Cowboys, Jones make eye-raising call about Pickens' future ahead of NFL Draft

Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have apparently extended an 'olive branch' to Athletes First agent David Mulugheta. Notably, they discussed the future of George Pickens in the franchise after just giving the star wide receiver a franchise tag for the 2026-27 season. Cowboys COO Stephen Jones also hopped in the call. Reportedly, the discussion about Pickens' future prior to the NFL Draft was 'professional' and 'cordial', via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

An important piece of information here is that Mulugheta was also the agent of Micah Parsons, who in 2025 got shipped out of the Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers. Moreover, the Cowboys have also made it clear that they are not going to have long-term talks about Pickens' future.

To quote the Cowboys COO, ""We've made the decision that George Pickens will play under the franchise tag. There won't be any long-term negotiations."

Now, the Cowboys will have to make a decision. Pickens just logged a career-best season which got him 1,429 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns, and a Pro Bowl selection. Jones and the Cowboys will only pay him a meager $27 million despite these efforts which certainly raised eyebrows.