Todd Archer
FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have made left guard Tyler Smith the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in the NFL.
As sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Smith agreed to a four-year extension worth $96 million that includes $81.2 million in guaranteed money. Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith was the highest-paid guard with a four-year, $94 million deal he signed on July 15.
Tyler Smith was under contract through 2026 after the Cowboys picked up the $21.27 million fifth-year option on his contract. He is now signed through 2030.
Though the team dealt star pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 28, Smith is the third player the Cowboys have signed to an extension since training camp began. Tight end Jake Ferguson signed a four-year extension worth up to $52 million that included $30 million guaranteed and a $12 million signing bonus. Last month the Cowboys signed cornerback DaRon Bland to a four-year extension worth up to $92 million that included $50 million guaranteed and a $22 million signing bonus.
All three of the deals were negotiated as the Cowboys kept hope that they could resolve the Parsons situation with an extension.
Smith was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in 2022, and he has started all 47 games he has played. As a rookie, he moved to left tackle following a training camp in which he played mostly guard after Tyron Smith suffered a hamstring avulsion that required surgery.
In 2023, he moved to left guard, and he has been selected to the Pro Bowl the past two seasons. In 2024, he joined Larry Allen, Zack Martin and Travis Frederick as the only four offensive linemen in team history to garner multiple Pro Bowl appearances in their first three seasons.
On Friday, coach Brian Schottenheimer called Tyler Smith “the best guard in football.”
“I don’t think I’m overselling him,” Schottenheimer said. “I really think he is.”
With the retirement of Martin this offseason, Smith, who is just 24, has become the leader of the offensive line room that projects to start a rookie (right guard Tyler Booker) and two second-year players (left tackle Tyler Guyton, center Cooper Beebe).
“He’s important, the leader, and it’s showing up out here,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on July 27. “I’ve been watching it with his reps. He’ll of course elevate from where he has been the first couple of years. Boy, we’ve got to have his leadership.”
