Dallas faces a critical decision as Brandon Aubrey's contract deadline looms. Will he play on a one-year deal or hold out for long-term security?
FRISCO - Jerry Jones has a long-term plan.
Brandon Aubrey has a short-term deadline.
The Dallas Cowboys’ three-time Pro Bowl kicker Aubrey is still, as we write this, a free agent - but he's a restricted free agent, which means the franchise holds virtually all the cards here.
And now a major deadline decision is due.
The Cowboys placed a second-round tender on Aubrey, knowing full well all of the ramifications.
An outside team can make an offer to the free agent and give up a second-round pick to his previous team, should that team (in this case, Dallas) decline to match the offer made to the player.
The one-year salary price here is $5.811 for a second-round tender. If a bidder wishes to beat that, it can persuade Aubrey to sign an offer sheet ...
At which point the Cowboys can either match (and privately thank the other team for negotiating the contract for them) or let Aubrey go (an unlikely scenario unless a team bids the $10 million APY number that is rumored to be a goal of Aubrey's agent Todd France).
And if he's allowed to go, Dallas gets that other team's second-round pick.
None of this is happening. There has been no offer sheet. There has been no trade talk.
So, now what?
Aubrey has until Friday, April 17, to receive an offer from another team before Dallas retains his rights for the 2026 season.
The "bidding'' period'' - such as it was - will be over.
At that point, the Cowboys and Aubrey can get back to the negotiating table ... or in theory, Aubrey could refuse to sign the offer sheet and spend time as a holdout.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently said the team has “long-term plans” for Aubrey, and Dallas believes it has demonstrated that with an offer "near'' $7 million per year that would make him the league’s highest-paid kicker.
But first things first ... which likely means no teams bidding on one of the NFL's very best.
