George Pickens has yet to accept the franchise tender
On the first day of the NFL draft, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Cowboys receiver George Pickens will sign his one-year, $27. 298 million franchise tender. While he still may, he has not yet done it.
Todd Archer of ESPN reports that Pickens has yet to sign the tender . Technically, a player simply needs to accept it. That can happen via email, for example.
Regardless, until the tender is accepted, the player is not under contract. Accepting the tender puts the player under contract. He can be fined for skipping the lone annual mandatory minicamp.
He can be fined for holding out from training camp, and for skipping preseason games. There are multiple potential motivations for accepting the tender early. A player could decide to fully commit himself to having a big year, setting the stage for becoming a free agent again the following year.
In Pickens's case, it's more likely that the Cowboys would simply tag him again. By rule, he'd be entitled to a 20-percent increase over his 2026 pay. That's $32.