Getty Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb
The Cowboys will begin voluntary offseason workouts today, April 15, but they are doing so with an especially notable absence—star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is staying away as he awaits a new contract extension from the team.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported on Monday morning that Lamb was not expected to be on hand for the workouts. He wrote on Twitter/X: “Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb isn’t expected to attend the start of Dallas’ voluntary off-season program Monday while he awaits a new contract to replace the one scheduled to pay him a fully-guaranteed $17.199 million for his upcoming fifth-year option season.”
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb isn’t expected to attend the start of Dallas’ voluntary off-season program Monday while he awaits a new contract to replace the one scheduled to pay him a fully-guaranteed $17.199 million for his upcoming fifth-year option season.
Beat writer Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News followed up on that by confirming that Lamb is, in fact, not on hand for the workouts.
He wrote on Twitter/X: “WR CeeDee Lamb is not participating in the Cowboys offseason program. Per a source with knowledge of the negotiations or lack there of on a contract extension, ‘why would he’”?
Cowboys Facing an Expensive Offseason
Contracts have been the name of the game for the Cowboys this offseason, as the team has done precious little to improve its roster, instead bracing for the upcoming payments to keep Lamb in place, along with edge rusher Micah Parsons and quarterback Dak Prescott.
All are going to need big-money deals. If the Cowboys make no move on Prescott, he will carry an incredible cap hit of $55 million for the season. Parsons is signed for $3 million this year, and has a fifth-year option in 2025 at $21.4 million. The urgency is less palpable there, but the Cowboys need to give him a new deal.
Of the three contracts, Lamb might be the trickiest. As Schefter referenced, he is signed for $18 million in 2024, the amount of his fifth-year option. But he does not want to play under that contract—he wants a big new deal, now.
The problem is, he wants to top the per-year average of Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, who earns $30 million per year. The Cowboys are going to do what they can to avoid going that high to keep Lamb, but that opens the way for a potentially ugly situation to develop.
CeeDee Lamb Still Under Rookie Deal
We’re a long way from it – missing voluntary workouts is not that big of a deal because they are, after all, voluntary – but there has been little progress reported on a contract for Lamb, or for Prescott for that matter. If the situation continues that way, Prescott would be fine playing out his contract at $55 million.
But Lamb would not. Any issue between him and the team now threatens to linger into the season, and could lead to a holdout. Dallas Morning News beat writer Michael Gehlken reported earlier in the month that it would be a surprise if Lamb showed up at The Star for any team activities—even the organized team activities, which are not voluntary and begin on May 24—until he has a new contract in hand.
“(Lamb’s) projected value is north of the record $30 million per year Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill earns. Hill signed that contract in 2022. The league’s salary cap has since increased 22.7%,” Gehlken wrote.
“In short, $17.99 million does not cover it. Lamb and Hill were Associated Press first-team All-Pro selections in 2023. Lamb is an elite player on the cusp of market-resetting compensation. Participating in the spring under a rookie-contract team option is not what elite players do.”