Last week, running back Javonte Williams re-signed with the Cowboys. It’s been called a three-year, $24 million deal.
We’ve gotten more information about the contract. Here are the full details, per a source with knowledge of the terms.
1. Signing bonus: $6 million.
2. 2026 base salary: $1.75 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2026 per-game active roster bonus: $1 million, fully guaranteed but must be earned.
4. 2027 base salary: $6.25 million, fully guaranteed.
5. 2027 per-game active roster bonus: $1 million, fully guaranteed but must be earned.
6. 2028 base salary: $7 million.
7. 2028 per-game active roster bonus: $1 million.
The contract also includes de-escalators based on the failure to participate in the required percentage of offseason workouts. It’s a common term in Cowboys contracts.
While per-game roster bonuses typically are included in the calculation of base pay, $1 million per year is a large amount that is tied to being in uniform every week. For each game Williams misses over the next three years, he’ll lose $58,823.
It will be interesting to compare the Williams deal to the other running back contracts to come. Our guess? Some will be better, and some will be not as good.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t use the term “all in” this offseason, but he did say last week at the Scouting Combine that he was ready to “bust the budget,” while being “aggressive” in free agency.
Jones also wants to add players ready to play now.
Dak Prescott expressed excitement at the possibility of adding veteran defenders to a unit that set a team record for most points allowed in a season.
“Heck yeah, most definitely,” Prescott said Wednesday, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website, “especially when he said . . . no redshirts.
“We’ve got a coach [Brian Schottenheimer] in his second year. We had some ups and downs and shined some good moments last year. This is the year that you make a big jump, and getting big-time players who can help immediately is a part of that.”
The Cowboys are expected to pursue linebackers in free agency as they switch to the 3-4, and Nakobe Dean could be an early target. Cowboys new defensive coordinator Christian Parker was on the defensive staff in Philadelphia, where Dean played the past four seasons.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said last week that the Cowboys want restricted free agent offensive linemen Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass back with the team in 2026. They placed a second-round tender on Bass, who has started 10 games in his career, but they will have to reach a deal with Hoffman to retain him.
According to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report, the Cowboys do not plan to tender Hoffman, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Hoffman, 26, has started 14 games the past two seasons.
He has played center, left guard and right guard.
“Both of those guys are studs,” Schottenheimer said at the Scouting Combine when asked about Hoffman and Bass. “They’re glue pieces for us. They’re always prepared. They’re ready. Both of those guys could start for other teams in the league. We’re just very, very talented. Both of those guys coming back would be big for us.”
Dak Prescott is where George Pickens is now. The Cowboys quarterback played under the franchise tag in 2020, earning $31.409 million.
The Cowboys used the non-exclusive franchise tag on the Cowboys wide receiver, and he will play the 2026 season for $27.298 million unless the sides can reach terms on a long-term deal before July 15.
Prescott was asked on Wednesday what advice he would have for Pickens.
“Yeah, George loves football. That’s the one thing about it,” Prescott said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “I just want him to know: Don’t change your love for football. Don’t get in the business mind of this.
“He played last year on [the final year of his rookie deal], right? So, if you can go $30 [million] whatever it is now, that’s the same thing I got when I franchised. Hey, go do it. At the end of the day, bet on yourself. He’s a hell of a player. Hopefully, we can get him long term and sign that, but if not, I think the way he plays the game, and the person he is, he’ll be just fine.”
Pickens wants to remain in Dallas on a long-term deal, but the Cowboys have a habit of dragging their feet on long-term deals. So, it remains to be seen whether the sides can reach an agreement or not.
The Cowboys are willing to make Brandon Aubrey the highest-paid kicker in the NFL, but they have stopped far short of the $10 million annual average he wants.
Aubrey and the Cowboys have discussed a contract extension for the kicker for months without an agreement. Last week, the Cowboys leaked that Aubrey was asking for $10 million per season.
Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reported that the Cowboys had offered Aubrey $7.5 million, but later corrected his report. The number actually is less than $7 million, but more than the $6.4 million annual average of the league’s highest-paid kicker, Kansas City’s Harrison Butker.
The Cowboys will place a second-round tender on Aubrey, which would pay him $5.81 million, but it will allow him to seek a better deal. Dallas will hold a right-of-first refusal, receiving a second-round draft choice if it declines to match the offer.
“Obviously the tender is what the Cowboys have talked about, and it’s a good problem to have,” Aubrey said Wednesday, via Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News. “It’s a good amount of money, and it’s a big pay raise from before, but it’s not the ideal for any player. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited to be in this position. It’s an opportunity for me . . . so I’m thankful for that.”
Aubrey, 30, has made the Pro Bowl in all three of his seasons and has an NFL-record six field goals from 60 yards or longer. He has a career-long of 65 yards. He missed seven field goals in 2024 and six in 2025, with all but four of the misses coming from 50-plus yards.
He said he has thought about potentially leaving the Cowboys if he gets an offer the team won’t match.
“When you hit that restricted free agency, if you’re not testing the market, then you’re not doing what’s right for you and your family,” Aubrey said. “So you have to do that, if that’s what it comes to.”
