Cowboys, Brandon Aubrey extension negotiations have ‘been a journey’
The Dallas Cowboys have arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine in Downtown Indianapolis for one of the more eventful weeks on the NFL calendar, as front office personnel will spend the time in the midwest not only scouting the impending draft class, but they will also be meeting with various agents of some of their own players.
Those meetings are typically done in order to gain clarity on impending free agents or to sign them to extensions altogether. In 2025, the Cowboys used the week to meet with the agent of Osa Odighizuwa before agreeing to a long-term extension the week after, and they had their lone in-person meeting with the representation of Micah Parsons before trading him in August.
This year, one deal is already in the books, as they agreed to terms with running back Javonte Williams on Saturday on a three-year, $24 million extension to prevent him from hitting the open market on March 11. Now, focus points to other impending free agents, such as kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Talking outside a ballroom at the J.W. Marriott hotel, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke on the negotiations with Aubrey that, he says, have gone back to before last season.
“We’ve been in talks with Aubrey since before the season started,” Jones said. “It’s been a journey, but we haven’t been able to get to a point where we all agree. So, we haven’t gotten him done, but we’d love to get him done.”
Aubrey is represented by Todd France, the same agent that the Cowboys have worked with twice for extensions for quarterback Dak Prescott. Much like he accomplished in that negotiation, France will be looking to make Aubrey the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker currently has the bar set at $6.4 million per year.
However, the caveat with Aubrey’s free agency is that he is a restricted free agent. This means the Cowboys can place a first- or second-round tender on Aubrey and match any offer that he receives from an outside team. If they choose not to match, then that team would have to give the Cowboys draft compensation based on the tender that the team placed on him.
(Example: The Cowboys place a second-round tender on Aubrey. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offer Aubrey a three-year, $21 million contract in free agency. Dallas can either match that offer and sign him, or the Buccaneers would be able to sign him but would have to give up a second-round pick to Dallas.)
The presence of the restricted free agency advantages are not lost on the Cowboys, as they will work to get a deal done to keep the Plano native in Dallas for the foreseeable future.
“Aubrey has the restricted tenders that come into play,” Jones said.
Since being signed out of the USFL in July 2023, Aubrey has 112 of his 127 field goal attempts and has made the Pro Bowl in all three seasons. In his first year, he was named to the AP first-team All-Pro and the second-team in each of the last two seasons.
