NFL free agency is more than a week old, and several of the game’s top players remain available on the open market.
While some are testing their markets to see which team will be the highest bidder, others are working with their current organizations to find a happy medium for a future together. The latter is where Brandon Aubrey and the Dallas Cowboys currently land, though the two sides have yet to make significant progress.
Stall in Negotiations Between Brandon Aubrey and the Cowboys
It is not often that a kicker generates this much buzz during free agency. However, Aubrey is a legitimate game-changer, and he wants to be paid like one. The Cowboys kicker has been named to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro team in each of his first three seasons in the NFL.
He has made 112 of his 127 career field goal attempts, good for 88.2%. That number was 94.7% during his first year in the league. While his accuracy dipped slightly in the last couple of seasons, he has increased his effective range.
Aubrey made a 65-yard field goal in 2024 and followed that up with a 64-yarder last season. He has made at least 10 field goals of 50+ yards in each of his first three seasons. He is a weapon that has opponents thinking Dallas is in scoring range as soon as the offense reaches midfield.
In addition to his long range, the kicker has only missed four extra points in three years, good for a 96.9% clip. As many NFL fans know, consistent extra-point production is not as easy as it once seemed.
The Financial Standoff in Dallas
The Cowboys and Aubrey are in a standoff regarding his contract because the kicker believes he deserves to be paid as the top player at his position. Dallas Cowboys beat reporter Calvin Watkins reported Thursday morning that there has been no recent progress toward a long-term deal.
“Aubrey asked for $10 mil offered just under $7,” he wrote on X. “Cowboys place 2-round tender $5.76 mil. Cowboys still want Aubrey the highest-paid K.”
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Aubrey has been firm on wanting around $10 million from the start. He wants to reset the kicker market as special teams become a more integral part of the game. However, the Cowboys placed a second-round tender on Aubrey that will pay him $5.76 million this season if no other team signs him to an offer sheet.
If another club does make an offer, the Cowboys would have the right to match it or receive draft compensation. In the meantime, the tender gives Dallas an extra year to negotiate a new long-term contract. The message from both sides remains that they want to work something out; it is simply a matter of finding a compromise.
Heading into this offseason, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was the highest-paid at the position at $6.4 million per year. The Houston Texans recently re-signed Ka’imi Fairbairn to a deal worth $6.5 million per year to reset the market. Based on Watkins’ report, the Cowboys want Aubrey to beat Fairbairn’s contract, but they do not want to reach $10 million. That leaves over $3 million per year of wiggle room to navigate.
