Among the drama of the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason, three-time Pro Bowl kicker Brandon Aubrey still remains a free agent. Granted, he’s a restricted free agent, but a free agent nevertheless.
With an important deadline approaching for Aubrey’s free agency process, let’s take a look at what’s ahead for the Cowboys kicker.
What is restricted free agency?
In restricted free agency, teams have the option to place three separate tenders on a player: a first-round tender, a second-round tender or a right of first refusal tender.
If a first-round tender is placed, an outside team would have to make an offer to the free agent and give up a first-round pick to the previous team if that team does not match the offer made to the player. The same applies for a second-round tender for a second-round pick. For a right of first refusal tender, teams would simply have just that — a chance to match any offer made to its restricted free agent.
All three tenders have different one-year salary prices. In 2026, the salaries are $8.106 million for a first-round tender, $5.811 for a second-round tender and $3.546 million for a right of first refusal tender. If no team makes an offer for the restricted free agent, the retaining team is on the hook for the salary price for one year.
Brandon Aubrey’s free agency
Prior to the start of free agency, the Cowboys placed a second-round tender on Aubrey. If any team were to sign Aubrey in free agency, it would have to give Dallas a second-round pick — but that hasn’t happened.
Kickers are rarely, if ever, worth second-round picks. Since 2000, only three kickers have been drafted in the first two rounds: Sebastian Janikowski in 2000 (No. 17 overall), Mike Nugent in 2005 (No. 47 overall) and Roberto Aguayo in 2016 (No. 59 overall). Of previous kickers to get the second-round tender, none have been signed by outside teams.
In 2026, the same can be said for Aubrey. While he has yet to sign his second-round tender with the Cowboys, he also hasn’t received a contract offer from any other team.
Now, Aubrey has until Friday, April 17, to receive an offer from another team before Dallas retains his rights for the 2026 season. At that point, he would have two choices: sign the second-round tender and play on a one-year, $5.811 million contract or hold out for a long-term deal.
Cowboys offered Aubrey to be highest-paid kicker
When speaking at the NFL combine, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team continues to have “long-term plans” for Aubrey in Dallas. He’s shown that by offering a contract to Aubrey both before and after the season that would have made him the league’s highest-paid kicker.
The current market has since been reset by Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn at $6.5 million per season. If Aubrey signs his second-round tender, he will become the third-highest-paid kicker in the league behind Fairbairn and Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
June 5 Rangers 3, Cleveland 2
June 6 Cleveland 6, Rangers 0
June 7 Rangers 10, Cleveland 0
June 9 Kansas City 5, Rangers 3
June 10 Rangers 6, Kansas City 4 (10 innings)
June 11 Rangers 4, Kansas City 2
June 12 at Boston, 6:10 p.m., CW
June 13 at Boston, 3:10 p.m., RSN
June 14 at Boston, 6:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock
June 15 vs. Minnesota, 7:05 p.m., RSN
June 16 vs. Minnesota, 7:05 p.m., RSN
June 18 vs. Minnesota, 1:35 p.m., RSN
Wings▶
May 28 Wings 95, Las Vegas 87
June 1 Wings 79, Seattle 56
June 5 Wings 104, Los Angeles 96
June 9 Minnesota 100, Wings 76
June 11 Wings 85, Phoenix 70
June 13 at Portland, 7:30 p.m., KFAA
June 15 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA
June 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA
June 20 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m., CBS, Paramount+
June 22 at Seattle, 9 p.m., KFAA
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox
Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA
World Cup ▶
All local matches at AT&T Stadium
Group stage
June 14 Netherlands vs. Japan (Group F), 3 p.m., Fox
June 17 England vs. Croatia (Group L), 3 p.m., Fox
June 22 Argentina vs. Austria (Group J), 12 p.m., Fox
June 25 Japan vs. Sweden (Group F), 6 p.m., FS1
June 27 Argentina vs. Jordan (Group J), 9 p.m., Fox
Knockout round
June 30 Round of 32: Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up, 12 p.m., Fox
July 3 Round of 32: Group D runner-up vs. Group G runner-up, 1 p.m., Fox
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
