Talks between the Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb are expected to pick up this summer. The All-Pro wide receiver is in a contract year, but so is Dak Prescott. Although Micah Parsons seems fine with his extension talks coming next year, a recent rumor pointed to the Cowboys placing Prescott above Lamb in their extension queue.
Prescott certainly took his time maximizing his leverage during his first round of negotiations, which spanned three offseasons, and the standout quarterback carries considerable leverage this time around. Dak’s situation holding up Lamb’s could be tricky for the Cowboys, who are facing the likelihood of three players pushing for position-record extensions. If no extension comes, Lamb should be expected to test the team in the way Zack Martin did last year.
[RELATED: Micah Parsons Expects To Become Highest-Paid Non-QB]
Lamb is not expected to show for training camp unless he has an extension in place, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. This would not be a stunning move, as the fifth-year wideout skipped minicamp.
Of course, that drew barely a $100K fine. Players who skip training camp are subject to $50K fines for each day missed. Nick Bosa, however, provided a blueprint to such a road not costing a player in the hold-in era. Bosa held out, but the 49ers waived his fines. Teams are no longer allowed to waive fines for players, per the 2020 CBA, but an exception exists for players on rookie contracts. Lamb qualifies, as he is tied to a fifth-year option.
The Cowboys were unable to waive Martin’s fines during his 2023 holdout, but the team buckled and turned the final two years of his contract into a fully guaranteed agreement. Martin received $36.85MM guaranteed last summer. Lamb is likely angling for a contract at or very close to the Justin Jefferson level. Considering the Vikings gave Jefferson $26MM more in guaranteed money than any other wide receiver and $36MM more fully guaranteed than any wideout secured, the Cowboys have a complicated negotiation coming.
Cowboys officials have said they do not want to set markets with their extensions, Watkins adds. That may be an issue due to the leverage and/or caliber of players with whom they will negotiate. Progress remains elusive in talks with Prescott and Lamb.
Prescott cannot be franchise-tagged or traded, and after another restructure, the Cowboys would face a $40.1MM dead money bill if they do not extend him by the start of the 2025 league year. The Cowboys are preparing to make a strong offer, but Prescott played hardball during his first round of negotiations. It would surprise if the eighth-year vet did not bring forth a similar plan, especially as the QB market has hit $55MM per year ($15MM north of Dak’s AAV), this time around.
A contract that bridges the gap between the guarantees Jefferson and A.J. Brown secured would be sensible for the Cowboys, though they undoubtedly could have signed Lamb for cheaper had they done a deal in 2023. Dallas has received criticism for delays with Lamb and Prescott, and if Parsons negotiations do commence in 2025, he will be in a contract year as well. While the Cowboys have acted early on extensions (Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Ezekiel Elliott), they have not done so for a first-rounder in five years.
Jefferson secured $110MM guaranteed, topping Brown’s previous WR standard of $84MM. Tyreek Hill‘s $52.5MM guarantee at signing held the WR lead until Jefferson’s whopping $88.7MM number surfaced. The Cowboys have never guaranteed a receiver more than $40MM at signing, and they escaped the other $20MM guaranteed in Amari Cooper‘s deal by trading him to the Browns.
A Lamb payday factored into that trade, with Jerry Jones citing the elder WR’s contract as the reason for the trade. Lamb, 25, has taken off since Cooper’s exit, though the Cowboys have run into some trouble finding consistent receiving help over the past two seasons.
Lamb said in January he wanted to become the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. Three receivers — Jefferson, Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown — have since raised the bar, bringing good news for the Oklahoma alum. The Cowboys have one of the trickier contract gluts in recent memory. If they stick to extending Prescott first, Lamb’s resolve will be tested if/once a holdout commences.
CeeDee Lamb has the same problem as his predecessor – Amari Cooper – i.e., he disappears when the team needs him the most.
Trade lamb to chargers or Pittsburgh then use picks to get Higgins on a more respectable extension
I am pretty sure he has a no trade clause.
lol.
everyone that plays for the cowboys wanna get paid and not win. that’s it. it’s the same story over and again.
Everyone wants to get paid that’s literally their job. Cowboys fault for how they’ve structured the team.
If you don’t set the market again it will get higher…
I would think it is smarter to get it done before Chase. Ceedee is not getting what JJ got.
Tyreek may get another extension too that will increase.
Low character man. Play. Your. Deal.
Shouldn’t owners that offer deals pay the contracts instead of cutting players before guarantees?
Some players are ridiculous. They are born with a great talent and some or most greedy.
Yeah the owners are the moral ones here…he’s using the leverage he has like any top performing employee should and would do.
Cowboys never learn. Because their policy of trying not to give “set the market” deals has worked out so well for them right? It’s a bluff that the Cowboys play everytime one of their stars is due for a contract and everytime the players call their bluff. They dig their own holes playing this game of chicken that they inevitably lose.
I believe the top 15 highest paid WR have won a combined two super bowls between them .. please Jerry .. overpay lamb .. and continue the cycle
To get the contract he wants,
CEEDEE LAMB
should change his name
TO
AYEAYE COWBOY !!
Your #17 Draft pick gives you 3 consecutive 1K yds seasons despite mediocre play calling.
The NFL is the only professional sport where you can surpass expectations then have to embrace being portrayed & perceived as a selfish diva instead of being rewarded for your performance.
However, I do think holdout m players are going about it wrong.
No extension?
Play out your contract.
Don’t sign a tag
Leave
The Cowboys find themselves in quicksand but it would be easy for other teams to stumble into the same predicament. The game model can’t support a QB making $50MM per year and other veteran players earning top market contracts. Time for the NFL to re-evaluate the game model.
Mahomes’ 2024 cap hit is $58.6 million
Difference is Mahomes is a 1st ballot HoF’er. The other (& pending QB’s) $50m+ QB’s aren’t.
Burrow, Goff and Jackson have gone deep into the playoffs and their teams are still competitive. The real problem is Dallas has Jerry running the numbers.
Sign Lamb, launch Dak into the sun. Sign Parsons.The Cowboys will be better off.
Who you have throwing the ball to Lamb? As a Bears fan, it pains me to see other teams fans wanting to throw away serviceable QBs. I’m not the biggest Dak fan but he is a pretty good QB. You were lucky he developed this way for where you got him in the draft.
Not once have the bears had a quarterback as good as him. Let him go and see what the future holds.
Have to agree with some of the comments here. The Cowboys put themselves in this position by doing 2 things. First, they prop up their players as being the ‘best’ at their positions. Second, they wait until the player generates leverage off that boasting and need to over pay to keep them.
Also, if they pay Dak at the top of the QB market it looks like that’ll be $60mm AAV. (Dak isn’t taking a home team discount), then they pay Lamb near the top at say $30mm AAV, then pay Parsons at the top of the edge rusher market (after all Jerry keeps saying he’s the best defensive player in the league) at $35mm AAV.
Those 3 players will combine for $125mm against the cap. The 2025 salary cap is projected to be $260mm. That leaves the Cowboys $135mm to field 50 players on the active roster, the practice squad and IR. Not to mention any dead money they might have, Gallup alone has a $8.7mm dead cap hit in 2025. So reduce the $135 mm to $126.3mm. That doesn’t count the high contracts of Lawrence, Martin and Diggs.
Dallas fans welcome to what other teams have dealt with, CAP HELL! Good luck fielding a competitive team with that.
Boys ain’t trying to pay nobody, how’s that wait n see approach worked so far ?