The Cowboys and tight end Jake Ferguson have agreed to a four-year, $52MM extension, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The deal includes $30MM in guarantees, including a $12MM signing bonus.
Although it was reported earlier this year that Dallas was eyeing a new deal for Ferguson, the negotiations mostly flew under the radar. In terms of average annual compensation, the contract places Ferguson seventh in the NFL’s tight end hierarchy. It also makes him the highest-paid TE in franchise history (h/t Rapoport).
Ferguson, 26, was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. He played in just 40% of the club’s offensive snaps in his rookie campaign, but he assumed TE1 duties in 2023, when Dalton Schultz left in free agency. As part of a prolific Dallas attack that led the league in scoring and finished fifth in total offense that year, Ferguson tallied 71 catches for 761 yards and five TDs that year.
Of course, 2024 was a different story. With quarterback Dak Prescott missing over half of the season due to injury, Ferguson totaled just 494 receiving yards and failed to reach the end zone. Nonetheless, Ferguson has shown he can be a productive member of a healthy and capable offense, and the Cowboys have opted to bet on that upside rather than allow the Wisconsin product to play out the final year of his rookie contract.
In addressing the extension, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer partially attributed Ferguson’s downturn in production to the TE’s own health concerns (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). He suffered a sprained MCL in Week 1 of the 2024 slate and then dealt with a concussion in the middle of the season, but those issues appear to be behind him. Schottenheimer also said Ferguson has lost weight and is moving well.
“I have zero doubts in my mind that his production will get back to where it was the year before,” Schottenheimer said. “I think last year was just kind of one of those years that you look back on your career and it was more of a fluke than anything.”
Historically, Prescott has relied heavily on his tight ends, so getting the Ferguson deal done represents a key piece of business for the Cowboys. The team remains in a holding pattern in its talks with star edge rusher Micah Parsons, and while that situation has understandably generated the most headlines, new contracts for players like Tyler Smith, DaRon Bland, and Brandon Aubrey could also be in the works.