Ian Rapoport clowned for framing Dallas Cowboys as ‘proactive’ in player deals

On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys re-signed kicker Brandon Aubrey to a record-breaking four-year extension worth $28 million, including $20 million fully guaranteed. The deal makes the 31-year-old the highest-paid kicker in NFL history.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news, citing Aubrey’s agents in the X announcement, in what’s become standard operating procedure for NFL insiders. Rapoport then quoted the announcement, adding further context that stood out to many readers, especially Cowboys fans.

“Dallas has, in recent years, been proactive with getting deals done,” wrote Rapoport. “Another example and a huge payday for the NFL’s best.”

Along with being wholly unnecessary from a journalist, the framing struck a nerve with many who have followed the Cowboys over the years, as it didn’t quite jive with their reading of how the franchise has handled re-signing star players and negotiating deals.

Even without getting into previous player negotiations, you could make the case that Rapoport’s sentiment is incorrect just about Aubrey alone. The Cowboys have been negotiating with the All-Pro kicker, who was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this offseason, for several months, but weren’t initially meeting Aubrey’s salary demands. Dallas ended up using a second-round tender on the kicker at the beginning of the offseason in order to keep him from being able to negotiate with other teams.

That said, by the Cowboys’ standards, Aubrey’s new deal is something of a quick process. The team has developed a reputation for long, drawn-out, publicly ugly negotiations that sometimes end in bad blood. Just ask current Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons.

The team is also in the midst of a protracted effort to sign a long-term deal with wide receiver George Pickens. The team placed the franchise tag on him during the offseason as those efforts roll on.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote in 2025 about the many missteps the Cowboys have made in recent years regarding player contracts, right before the team traded Parsons away following failed renegotiations.

“In a league in which lesser quarterbacks have been happily paid tens of millions of dollars and have been given glowing reports by the coaches and general managers whose job security is tied to their success, the Cowboys discussed how paying a quarterback too much money hurts a team’s chances of winning a Super Bowl before eventually paying Dak Prescott. They suggested they wouldn’t redo star guard Zack Martin’s contract because they had to pay pass rusher Micah Parsons, before then redoing Martin’s contract.

Here, in 2025, the Cowboys might have taken things just a tiny bit too far. With Parsons entering the final year of his rookie deal on a fifth-year option, they and their star edge rusher spent the spring publicly throwing out vaguely positive ideas about an extension. Although most teams would have already done an extension with such a talented player after his third season in the league, 31 other franchises would have avoided saying what Dallas team owner Jerry Jones said, noting that Parsons missed six games with an injury last season. (It was four.) Parsons responded days later by publicly requesting a trade, citing both the public comments and an attempt by the Cowboys to negotiate a deal while excluding his agent, a move Jones didn’t seem to deny.”

As for why Rapoport felt the need to mention the Cowboys were proactive in their player contract renegotiation efforts, some accused him of saying so as a favor to team ownership and management, Jerry and Stephen Jones. We can’t say for sure why he needed to include that extraneous bit of information, but that would fit with one of the longstanding criticisms of NFL insiders.

It’s also far from the first time Rapoport has offered up unnecessary editorializing on a news story.