The Dallas Cowboys are no strangers to contract drama and have balanced perceived financial jealousies before.

And for the record, there is none and will be none with receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

Remember back in 1995 when Jerry Jones signed Deion Sanders to richest cornerback contract in NFL history at the time _ a five-year, $35 million deal, including a $13 million signing bonus _ while bringing him to a team that had not only owned two Super Bowl titles but already had it’s share of megawatt star power and personality in the form of receiver Michael Irvin.

Sanders famously jokingly asked Irvin during press conference, “Are you mad about money?”.

Ironically, it was Irvin who helped recruit Sanders to the Cowboys in effort to secure their third Super Bowl title and he assured Jerry Jones no one would be angry about the contract, “If we can get Deion, we get Deion… I want to win,’ Irvin told Jones.

The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl, their third title in four seasons.

Fast forward to 2026 with the team heading into it’s 31st season since the last time they have even been to the Super Bowl let alone hoist a Lombardi Trophy.

Super Bowl talk is back in Dallas and it’s buoyed by an explosive offense, led by Lamb and Pickens, arguably the best receivers corps in the NFL and their connection with quarterback Dak Prescott.

Lamb, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, is the fifth highest paid receiver in the NFL with a contract averaging $34 million a year. But last season Pickens, in his first year with the team, led the Cowboys in yards, catches and touchdowns with career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine).

Pickens made All-Pro for the first time and set himself to cash in on a rising market for receivers.

Pickens could have gotten at least $35 million annually on the free agent market but the Cowboys slapped him with franchise tag, guaranteeing him $27 million in 2026. He is hoping to break the bank in free agency in 2027 with the Cowboys or another team.

Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba reset the market with a deal averaging $42.1 million earlier this offseason.

None of it went unnoticed by Pickens.

“Definitely something that the other guys are getting, you know what I mean?,” Pickens said when asked by CBS Sports what number would make him happy. “Because that’s all I can really look forward to. I can’t really ask for nothing too crazy, but just what I see. So definitely somewhere where the other guys are getting.”

Jones certainly teased the situation when he opened training camp saying Pickens could be a Cowboys player for a long-time, while dangling a carrot of riches before him he had another great season.

“He’s a valued part of our aspirations and our potential success,” Jones said Tuesday. “The combination that he has with the other talent on the team, I think will make you feel pretty positive about what we’ve got a chance to do.

“I hope that he comes out here and is the most prolific, successful receiver in the NFL this year. And how would you like to be a free agent and with his credentials and step out there and have a year like that? I wish all of that because if that happens, that (would be) good for us.”

“This can be a very win-win thing that we’ve done here, us and George being on the team. Make no mistake about it, George could be a Cowboy for the rest of his career and that’d be a long time. Make no mistake about it. This (franchise tag) just fit for us and thank goodness it fit for him and we got it done.”

What it is also setting up is that Pickens could potentially make more money than Lamb, a homegrown product who was given the 88 jersey as the next in line of a lineage of great Cowboys receivers.

Lamb, in taking a page out of Irvin’s 1995 playbook, won’t be mad about the money. He is rooting him to get paid as much as he can.

“I want him to get all the money in the world, No cap,” Lamb said.

Lamb is very close with Pickens, as they traveled together throughout offseason. They have mutual admiration for each other and are each other’s biggest fan.

Lamb said it will only get better in 2026 as long he stays healthy. He missed four games last season with an ankle injury, paving the way for Pickens lead the team in receiving.

“We spent a lot of the off season together, honestly. So everything that you saw last year, we’re going to build off of that,” Lamb said. “And God willing, I’m healthy the whole year. And then we’ll see what happens from there.

“Yeah, I’m bro’s biggest fan, honestly. Man, I always want him to win. I’m his biggest fan. I tell him this all the time. He’s elite at what he does and it’s good to see. I’m happy to have him on my team and vice versa. I’m sure he is too.”