Report: Cowboys expected to place second-round tender on Brandon Aubrey
It appears the Cowboys are ready to put in a pin in their contract negotiations with kicker Brandon Aubrey and move on to other business for the time being, letting the big-money speculation surrounding the All-Pro specialist play out at least a while longer.
According to an X post from Spotrac on Thursday morning, the club is expected to place a second-round tender on the 30-year-old Aubrey. That move would temporarily lock in the restricted free agent at $5.8 million, but it would not end the negotiations.
Other interested teams would still be able to propose a more lucrative deal. Should someone else sign Aubrey to an offer sheet, the Cowboys would be given the right to match that offer in order to keep the three-time Pro Bowler on the roster.
If Dallas were to decline to do so, Aubrey would leave and the Cowboys would receive a second-round draft pick as compensation.
Further details are also coming out in what has become a pricey game of he-said-he-said this week.
Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS reports that, according to a source, the Cowboys did not offer Aubrey a new deal worth $7.5 million per year, as had been previously stated in the media. The real number didn't even top $7 million, per Hill, but it did surpass the annual salary of Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who, at $6.4 million, is currently the highest-paid kicker in the NFL.
Hill says that offer was made to Aubrey back in September, and his source claims that agent Todd France was the one who countered with an offer of $10 million and then "shut down negotiations until getting [on] the bus [belonging to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones] at the combine on Wednesday."
France posted a short video to Instagram on Wednesday showing the Cowboys-branded bus parked in Indianapolis . His caption read , "The NFL combine...where misinformation spreads like wildfire. Looking forward to my meeting with the Cowboys on the bus. #Aubrey"
Which part of the saga is "misinformation?" The Cowboys' original offer? The astronomical $10 million figure? France doesn't say.
Aubrey himself got involved in the debate, as did his wife. Both took to social media to respond to reports that the kicker had rebuffed the team's offer of $7.5 million and instead asked for a bigger deal.
"Fake," Aubrey posted, with his wife Jenn separately replying, "False."
Which part of the story the Aubreys deny is also unclear, but the Cowboys now appear ready to let other teams come with an offer. If it's in the range of what the Joneses deem appropriate for the best kicker in the game (Spotrac estimated the cap-adjusted APY of Butker's deal to be $7.6 million per year), they can match it and keep a star on Aubrey's helmet.
Cowboys Wire recently laid out a four-year extension proposal that would retain Aubrey at a palatable sum yet still make him the top money-earner at his position and give Dallas escape-clause options for the future.
But if someone wants to break the bank for Aubrey, the Cowboys are reportedly ready to set the price at a second-round draft pick.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys expected to place second-round tender on kicker Brandon Aubrey
