The price of the best NFL tight ends is increasing as The Cowboys try to sign Star tight end on a long-term contract. The Cowboys put the franchise tag on Schultz this offseason. This gives the playmaker a $10.9 for 2022. This is a significant raise from his $2.9 million four-year rookie deal.
Dallas could still reach a long-term agreement with Schultz, which would mean that the tight end wouldn’t play on the franchise tag in this season’s playoffs if they come to an agreement. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Browns have signed tight end David Njoku for a four-year contract extension worth $56.75million.
Schultz was able to surpass Njoku in almost every major statistical category, and is likely that he will be awarded a larger contract. Paul Kasabian , Bleacher Report, projects that Schultz will sign a $64 million four-year contract with the Cowboys.
Kasabian wrote that Schultz, 25, is still a better offensive weapon and that any contract talks should begin with Njoku’s deal as the baseline. Kittle’s five year, $75 million contract ($30,000,000 guaranteed) is the gold standard for tight ends. Schultz doesn’t belong in the Pro Bowler’s three-tiered tier, but he is worthy of a contract that exceeds $60 million in value. He was a key pass-catcher on the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in last year’s NFL.
“The best guess for a Schultz agreement: Four years, $64 Million, $30 million guaranteed.”
Schultz just finished a record year with the Cowboys, posting 78 receptions for 808 yards as well as eight touchdowns during his 17 appearances to 2021. Njoku, on the other hand, had 36 receptions for 475 yards with four touchdowns for Browns. Schultz doesn’t seem to be concerned about his future with Cowboys. He stated that he will “let my agent sort of handle all that.”
“I mean, again dude, I let my agent kind of handle all that business, and right now I’m just focused on the OTAs, man,” Schultz told reporters on May 26.
Schultz expressed desire to stay with the Cowboys in the past, but Dallas must be willing to spend if the Cowboys want to maintain their tight end beyond the next season.
The Cowboys selected Jake Ferguson, a Wisconsin tight end, in the fourth round 2022 NFL draft. The 129 pick was an insurance policy for Schultz. This is not a sign that Dallas wants to trade Schultz, as Dallas is short at the position since the release of Blake Jarwin in March. Ferguson believes that he can learn much from his time in Dallas with Schultz.
“Just watching him and especially all the other tight ends that have been through here, they’re all smooth,” Ferguson told the Cowboys website on May 18. “They’re not the fastest guys, they’re not the strongest guys, but they’re smooth, and smooth is fast and fast is smooth. You watch those guys, they’re smart, they know where the holes are in the defense, they know what to do in the trenches, their technique is there. So just being able to try to perfect my craft and get to that level is something that I really pride myself on and really try to get to.”
“I’ve got to work to get to those points to even be considered with the guys that have been through here – Dalton Schultz, I look up to those guys, Jason Witten – some of those absolute ballers.”