Cowboys sign TE Ferguson to 4-year extension

OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys signed tight end Jake Ferguson to a four-year extension on Sunday.

The extension is worth $52 million, including a $12 million signing bonus and $30 million in guaranteed money. Ferguson was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract (due to make $3.4 million) but is now signed through 2029.

A fourth-round draft pick in 2022, Ferguson has 149 catches for 1,429 yards and seven touchdowns in 47 games. His best season came in 2023, when he caught 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns and was added as a replacement to the Pro Bowl for San Francisco's George Kittle.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has long leaned on tight ends as a security blanket, starting with Jason Witten early in his career, then Dalton Schultz in later seasons and most recently Ferguson.

Ferguson and Witten are the only tight ends in team history to record 50-plus-catch seasons in their first three years.

Last season, Ferguson caught 59 passes for 494 yards but did not score a touchdown. He suffered a sprained MCL in the season-opening win against the Cleveland Browns that limited him for most of the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, he missed two games with a concussion.

Ferguson was one of a number of key players set to become free agents after this season, including pass rusher Micah Parsons, arguably the Cowboys' top priority, as well as Pro Bowl cornerback DaRon Bland and wide receiver George Pickens.

At the start of training camp, executive vice president Stephen Jones intimated the Cowboys have had talks with the agent for Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith, who is signed through next year.