Mickey Spagnola

FRISCO, TexasMy oh my, what a difference nearly 30 years makes in the NFL.

Back on March 14, 1997, Cowboys restricted free agent kicker Chris Boniol signed a four-year, $2.45 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Eagles the cap-strapped Cowboys couldn't match, one that included all of a $150,000 signing bonus.

On April 20, 2026, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, also a restricted free agent, signed a four-year, $28 million extension, with $20 million guaranteed, becoming the highest paid kicker in NFL history until last week when Steelers signed their kicker Chris Boswell to an identical four-year, $28 million extension.

How times change, and couldn't resist congratulating Boniol for having a hand, er, maybe even a foot, in helping develop Aubrey transitioning from playing professional soccer, to an IT job, to becoming an instant three-time Prol Bowl kicker over his first three NFL seasons with the Cowboys.

"Many moons ago," Boniol text me back at the irony after what's taken place over these past 30 NFL seasons.

Remember, Aubrey's first professional kicking opportunity came with the Birmingham Stallions of what was then the USFL in the 2022-23 spring seasons. And it was Boniol his special teams/kicking coach in 2023 during his second of an initial two year foray into professional football when making 14 of his 15 field goal attempts, all 35 of his extra points and proved an extraordinary kickoff artist while helping the Stallions to become two-time USFL champions in 2023 before signing with the Cowboys that summer.

Boniol might have even tipped off Cowboys then special coach John Fassel about his gem in the making.

And to think Boniol was a darn fine kicker for the Cowboys himself during his three seasons (1994-96), learning some of the finer points from then kicking specialist Steve Hoffman. Until Aubrey made 36 field goals that 2025 season, Boniol's 81 field goals in three seasons ranked third in franchise history, behind only Dan Bailey's 186 in seven seasons (2011-17) and Rafael Septien's 162 over 11 seasons. Aubrey's 112 now ranks third, knocking Boniol out of the Top 3.

But not completely out of the Cowboys record book. Boniol still holds the franchise record for single-season highest field goal percentage at 96.4 when making 27 of 28 in 1995. Why in 1996 Boniol's seven field goals against Green Bay set the franchise record for most in a game and tied the then NFL record first established by Cardinals Jim Bakken in 1967. But now Boniol is in a 10-way tie for second in the NFL (including Cowboys Billy Cundiff's seven in 2003), all trailing Tennessee's Rod Bironas's eight kicked in 2007.

And at one time Boniol held the Cowboys franchise record with 27 consecutive made field goals in 1996, that until Dan Bailey's 30 straight over two seasons (2013-14) knocked him down to second longest when he was the Cowboys kicking coach that 2013 season and now third longest since Aubrey's 34 straight during his 2023 rookie season is tops.

Thought we'd just kick a little of that around, Aubrey during last week's Reliant Home Run Derby reminding what a quality athlete he is, finishing third by raising $7,300 for The Salvation Army, mere pocket change compared to what he raised for himself coming out of relatively nowhere after signing the extension.

"Never really thought about it that way," Aubrey said of reaching highest paid kicker status in the NFL. "I just kind of wanted to find my way onto a roster and cling onto that position as long as possible. I know there's a lot of movement at the kicker position and if you're one of the good ones, you can hold onto a spot for a long time. So, my goal was always just to get that opportunity to have my name on an NFL roster.

"And then from there, just wanted to take it kick by kick to keep my name on the roster. And that's what I'm going to keep doing. That's what I'm going to keep focusing on. Just the only goal is to make the next kick."

As I remember, one of Boniol's mottos having passed on from Hoffman.

• High Noon:Heard someone trying to disparage the Cowboys popularity after consecutive losing seasons, quick to point out the somewhat scheduling rarity of the Cowboys having five games with noon starts while ignoring the fact they are scheduled for seven primetime games if counting the 3:30 p.m. start on Thanksgiving. And while disparaging those noon starts, failing to mention three of those five are games against teams with the worst NFL records in 2025, that being Arizona (3-14), Tennessee (3-14) and the Giants the second time around (4-13), but in Week 17. Such little perspective sometimes.

• Gigantic Start:Yes, the Cowboys conversely are opening the season against those same Giants, but there are ulterior motives for that first Sunday Night Football opener across the Big Apple waterway in the Meadowlands. First, the NFL capitalizing on the Cowboys worldwide popularity compounding with the New York City glitz. Then it's 18-year former Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh, fired by the Ravens and nearly instantly hired by the Giants, making his Giants head coaching debut on national TV, butting up against up-and-coming NFL assistant Christian Parker making his defensive coordinator debut with the Cowboys for all to see. Want more storylines? How about Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, in 2025 first in in NFL completions (404), third in passing yards (4,552,), fourth in touchdown passes (30) and seventh in QBR (99.5) vs. second-year, up-and-coming Giant starting QB Jaxson Dart. Enough said, unless NBC cares to point out Dak's dominance over the Giants, owning a 14-3 starting record, two of those losses his rookie debut in 2016 (20-19) and later in the season, 26-20, with the third coming essentially in the final game of last season when playing just the first half before giving way to backup Joe Milton, meaning having beaten those Giants 14 consecutive times before that.

• Footnotes:See where the Broncos released Cowboys 2023 sixth round draft choices Deuce Vaughn, the running back with the Cowboys for two seasons, then after being released by the Cowboys last season signed on to the Broncos practice squad . . . Nashville, Tenn., known as Music City, will be known in 2030 as Super Bowl City, the NFL owners voting this week to stage Super Bowl LXIV at the Titans soon to open new Nissan Stadium in 2027. . . That means the next four Super Bowls will be held in order SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif.), Atlanta, Vegas and Nashville . . . And with that, what a scene this will become for the 2027 NFL Draft, owners voting to stage in Washington D.C. on the National Mall filled with thousands, the Capitol as a backdrop . . . And can't imagine the Chicago Bears becoming the Hammond Bears, the Indiana city just east of the Illinois border making a bid to build a new stadium and entertainment center with Da' Bears looking to leave Soldier Field, but come on, in of all places where I spent four summers during college working at Youngstown Steel Door factory.

As it stands right now, the projected starting inside linebackers in Christian Parker's base 3-4 defense, and possibly when employing a 4-2-5 nickel formation, figures to be DeMarvion Overshown and Dee Winters, the fourth-year linebacker from TCU the Cowboys acquired in an NFL Draft-day trade, unless rookie Jaishawn Barham intercedes. So, why not lean on the Cowboys fourth-year LB Overshown for this week's final word about the potential pair in the middle.

"Hey, run and hit," is Overshown's initial perspective on the two guys playing together. "I'm going to have me a partner; I told him it's going to be a race to the ball every time. Everybody's seen his film. He's a run and hit guy like me. He's smart. And just like I said about Caleb (Downs), he done come in accepting his role in what he's going to do, and he said he wants to win.

"We been knowing each other since I was at Texas and he was at TCU. Finally able to, you know, put purple and orange together. It's going to look good. It's going to look good."

Especially if they clash together.