The Dallas Cowboys spent all of training camp and preseason without their top offensive weapon, as CeeDee Lamb held out seeking a new contract extension that would pay him like one of the NFL’s best receivers. Lamb had considerable leverage, as a year ago he led the NFL in receptions with 135 and racked up 1.749 yards and 12 touchdowns, accounting for more than a third of Dallas’ receiving production.
However, with Dak Prescott also waiting on a new contract and other top players like Micah Parsons needing a big payday soon, the Cowboys weren’t interested in moving quickly on Lamb’s deal — with Jerry Jones not helping matters by calling Lamb’s contract “not a priority.” As such, they got all the way through the final week of the preseason before working out a new deal with Lamb that guarantees him $100 million over a new 4-year deal that could be worth up to $136 million.
Lamb gets the top end money he was looking for, with a record-breaking $38 million signing bonus, and allowed the Cowboys to come to the realization they needed to get him paid and on the field to have a chance at reaching their lofty goals for the upcoming season. With Lamb’s deal done, all eyes will be on how Prescott performs this year and what happens with him next offseason, when he can test the free agency waters. He figures to command $50 million per year, but exactly how high his next contract goes will depend on whether he and the Cowboys can finally make some playoff noise.
