What do you think Tyler Smith’s eventual contract with the Cowboys will look like?
It’s been a fairly active offseason by the standards of the Dallas Cowboys, including the trade for wide receiver George Pickens.
The Cowboys moved on from Mike McCarthy and elected to elevate offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. Now, they’re focusing on a pair of major extensions: pass rusher Micah Parsons and left guard Tyler Smith.
Dallas was in a similar predicament last offseason, having to extend both star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott. Both deals eventually got done right before the start of the season, but it wasn’t without fireworks.
Now, they’re hoping to avoid that this time around with another pair of stars. While the focus has been on Parsons, and rightfully so, Smith has become one of the Cowboys’ top players since being drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He’s only entering the fourth year of his career, so the Cowboys do have time to get a deal done, as they’ve already picked up his fifth-year option for 2026. But, in recent years, teams have seen an advantage when getting ahead of contract extensions with the cap continuing to rise.
So, let’s look at the numbers for a potential Smith extension and see where he could fit among his peers at guard.
Comparable baseline for a Tyler Smith contract
The guard market has erupted in recent years.
To name a few, Chris Lindstrom, Robert Hunt, Will Fries, Trey Smith (franchise tag), Landon Dickerson, Quenton Nelson, Aaron Banks, Sam Cosmi, Quinn Meinerz, Joe Thuney, and Jonah Jackson have all gotten a deal in the past two years that averages at least $17.5 million per season.
Dickerson’s four-year, $84 million deal from last offseason set the market until Trey Smith was franchise-tagged this year, setting him up to make $23.4 million on a one-year deal in 2025.
Smith has quickly developed into one of the top guards in the NFL since moving over from tackle in 2023, and he could very well be next in line for a market-setting deal.
Looking purely at contract extensions, Dickerson’s $21 million per year leads the way for average annual value. Hunt’s $63 million in practical guarantees on his five-year, $100 million deal with the Panthers is the top in that category. Lindstrom’s $48.2 million on his five-year, $102.5 million deal with the Falcons is the most guaranteed at signing. And Quenton Nelson’s $31 million signing bonus tops that filter.
With the guard market really expanding and teams taking care of their players early, four-year extensions seem to be the blueprint at the position. That makes sense for Smith, given that he still has two more years on his rookie deal (Year 4 + fifth-year option). It also allows the Cowboys more flexibility to structure the contract, which can be helpful in negotiations.
Timing will be crucial, as it usually is with major contracts, given others like Trey Smith are also vying for long-term extensions. But, given where the market currently is, let’s project what a contract for Tyler Smith could look like.
Projecting a Tyler Smith contract with the Dallas Cowboys
As shared above, expect Smith to land a four-year deal. And given how the Cowboys have structured some of their bigger contracts, I expect a guarantee structure where all or a portion of the 2026 and 2027 compensation guarantees after the previous league year begins.
Smith should be in line for a market-setting deal, so I’d expect the average annual value to slightly beat Landon Dickerson’s. As for the guarantees, I think the sweet spot will be between Dickerson’s $50 million and Quenton Nelson’s $60 million on his four-year, $80 million extension with the Indianapolis Colts.
Of course, there are opportunities for more guarantees with the guarantee structure, but I’d think Smith would earn somewhere in that range for the total guarantees.
The Cowboys aren’t afraid to dole out larger signing bonuses, although I’m not sure that one for Smith would break the market over Nelson’s $31 million bonus. The good news for Dallas is that they can spread the cap hit over six possible years, given that Smith would have the two years on his rookie deal remaining, plus the four extension years on his overall deal.
That would bump up his guarantees at signing, although that number is also dependent on the structure.
So, for now, here’s what a projection of Smith’s deal could look like:
Projection: 4 years, $85 million total with $53 million in total guarantees
