The Dallas Cowboys have rewarded one of their biggest rising stars with a blockbuster contract extension.
Jake Ferguson, who is engaged to college basketball star Haley Cavinder, has agreed to a new four-year, $52million deal with the Cowboys, the team announced in a statement Sunday morning.
The tight end’s extension includes $30 million guaranteed and a $12 million signing bonus. The deal now makes him the seventh highest paid player in his position in the league.
Ferguson, 26, enjoyed a breakout season for the Cowboys in 2023, hauling in 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns.
He saw his output take a dip last season but over 47 games throughout his NFL career, Ferguson has registered 149 receptions for 1,429 yards and seven touchdowns.
Ferguson struggled with a knee injury and also suffered a concussion during the 2024 season but he insisted that, despite the highs and lows, he was more motivated than ever.
The Dallas Cowboys have rewarded Jake Ferguson with a new $52million contract extension
The tight end is engaged to social media influencer and college basketball star Haley Cavinder
‘My knee hurt for sure, the concussion was weird, but I’ve said this before, if I’m on the field I should be able to give it my all,’ Ferguson said in June. ‘I definitely wasn’t satisfied with how I played the whole year last year.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever played a full season and not scored a touchdown, so that was something I came into this offseason really working on, just really tried to dial in on that and make sure I was lights out.’
Ferguson, who was selected by the Cowboys with a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Wisconsin, is now se to stay in Dallas until 2029.
The move comes as the Cowboys hope to return to contention this season after failing to make the playoffs in 2024 with a disappointing 7-10 finish.
However, Ferguson’s extension was not the deal many fans expected to emerge from the Lone Star State as the new season looms.
Dallas is currently embroiled in negotiations over a contract extension with top defensive star Micah Parsons with both sides failing to make progress on a deal so far.
Yet, when asked about the negotiations earlier this week, owner Jerry Jones bizarrely took a shot at Parsons, who is on an expiring contract, as he quipped about the pass rusher’s injury history.
‘Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re gonna have him. He was hurt six games last year,’ Jones said before then pivoting to take a jab at his quarterback, Dak Prescott: ‘I remember signing a player at the highest paid for his position in the league and he got knocked out for two-thirds of the year.’
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones bizarrely took a shot at Micah Parsons amid negotiations
Cavinder proudly displayed a huge diamond on her ring finger after a proposal on the beach
Ferguson’s deal is not the first piece of good news the tight end has received this offseason as back in April, he put a ring on it.
The Cowboys star proposed to then-girlfriend Haley Cavinder with the college basketball player and social media influencer announcing the happy news Instagram.
Cavinder, 24, proudly displayed a huge diamond on her ring finger after Ferguson seemingly proposed to her surrounded by white flowers on the beach.
The couple went public with their relationship in 2023 and Cavinder has been to a number of Cowboys games to support Ferguson ever since.
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