Dalton Schultz's Agent Denies Rumor Former Cowboys TE Rejected 3-Year, $36M Contract

Agent Steve Caric wants to set the record straight about a rumor involving his client, tight end Dalton Schultz, who just signed a one-year deal worth up to $9 million with the Houston Texans, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

On Monday, Caric denied a report that Schultz turned down a three-year, $36 million deal "at one point" to remain with the Dallas Cowboys, who the ex-Stanford star played for from 2018-2022:

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated provided the report Monday on Schultz, who played last year on the franchise tag for $10.931 million:

"One gamble that hasn't worked—Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz betting on himself and playing on the franchise tag in 2023. Schultz had a three-year, $36 million deal at one point. I get why he'd pass that up. But the fallout hasn't been pretty. Schultz played on a $10.9 million franchise tender last year, and now he's unsigned and still on the market about a week into free agency."

Schultz caught 57 passes for 577 yards and five touchdowns in 2022 in 15 games. Last year, he amassed career-high marks with 78 receptions for 808 yards and eight scores in 17 games.

The 26-year-old was the most productive tight end on the 2023 free-agent market.

Hayden Hurst has set the tight end standard thus far with a three-year, $21.75 million contract ($13 million guaranteed) with the Carolina Panthers. He had 52 catches for 414 yards and two scores last year for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Josh Oliver also got paid to the tune of three years and $21 million ($10.7 million guaranteed) with the Minnesota Vikings, who are banking on his upside and potential after he posted a 14/149/2 stat line for the Ravens while playing 46.9 percent of snaps last year behind Mark Andrews on the depth chart.

Schultz had a case to eclipse both of those numbers, though the tight end market seems to have taken a dip since the New England Patriots went all out in 2021 to sign Hunter Henry (three years, $37,500,000) and Jonnu Smith (four years, $50 million).

Still, he's proven to be productive and reliable over the past three seasons and could land a nice multi-year deal somewhere in 2024 if he continues his solid production in Houston.