The 2024 season has officially come to a close for the Dallas Cowboys. No more games or practices, and the only activities happening for players in the coming weeks are exit interviews and cleaning out their lockers.
Dallas hosted the Washington Commanders in the season finale at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The game began with a promising defensive effort from the Cowboys, but the offense’s inability to score in the redzone kept them from building a larger lead. A 9-3 halftime advantage quickly dissolved when the Commanders made a quarterback change.
Rookie Jayden Daniels was pulled at halftime to rest for the playoffs, and veteran Marcus Mariota sparked the Commanders’ offense to three second-half touchdown drives, including the game-winning touchdown pass to WR Terry McLaurin with less than five seconds remaining in the game.
The Cowboys finished the season with an 8-9 record, and one of their few bright spots on the team this year landed himself in the record books again. K Brandon Aubrey, probably tired of walking up to the stage to continue receiving these accolades, broke the franchise record for field goals made in a season. Here’s the kicker (no pun intended): he broke his own record set last season.
Butter Aubrey
Brandon Aubrey earned the name “Butter” Aubrey for his smooth kicking style and pinpoint accuracy. Perhaps so many years playing soccer taught him to kick to a spot, and not just try to get the ball between the uprights. Aubrey earned another Pro Bowl nod this year despite kicking with only 85.1% accuracy, down from 94.7% last season.
Don’t criticize him too much for his seven misses. His 40 makes were another record, becoming just the fifth kicker in NFL history to finish the regular season with at least 40 successful field goals. David Akers, former Philadelphia Eagles kicker holds the record with 44, set in 2011 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
Daniel Carlson was on the only other kicker to accomplish this feat besides Akers with 40 made field goals in 2021, but Aubrey isn’t the only kicker to join this list for the 2024 season. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell finished the season with 41 successful field goals, and sits in second place all-time behind Akers.
Brandon Aubrey’s accomplishments continue to pile up. His 40 made field goals this season totaled 1,769 yards, which converts to 5,307 feet. This means he is the first kicker in NFL history to make a mile’s worth (5,280 feet) of kicks in a single season.
What’s Next For Aubrey?
The Cowboys have Brandon Aubrey under contract through next season, and he is set to be a restricted free agent in 2026. Even with contracts looming for DE Micah Parsons and many other key players hitting free agency, a contract extension with Aubrey might be the most feasible out of them all, and getting out ahead of it could keep the price lower than 2026.
There is no doubt in my mind that Aubrey, after what he has accomplished in his first two seasons, will want to be the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. Here are the top-five current kicker contracts based on average annual salary:
- Harrison Butker, Kansas City ($6.4 million)
- Jake Elliott, Philadelphia ($6.0 million)
- Justin Tucker, Baltimore ($6.0 million)
- Matt Gay, Indianapolis ($5.625 million)
- Cameron Dicker, Los Angeles Chargers ($5.501 million)
I imagine the Cowboys will want to offer a shade over Butker’s deal, somewhere in the range of $6.45-$6.5 million per season, but Aubrey’s agent, the notorious Todd France, will play hard ball and force the Cowboys to come up closer to $7 million per year.
Whatever it takes, Brandon Aubrey needs to remain a member of the Dallas Cowboys for many years to come. Jerry and Stephen Jones need to give him a blank check and let him fill in the number. He has been that important to the team over the past two seasons.
