Today, April 15, the Cowboys will start their optional offseason workouts, but one player will be conspicuously absent: standout wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will not be participating as he awaits a new contract deal from the team.
It was initially reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday morning that Lamb was not anticipated to attend the workouts. #Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb isn’t anticipated to attend the start of Dallas’ voluntary off-season program on Monday as he waits for a new deal to replace the one that will pay him a fully-guaranteed $17.199 million for his upcoming fifth-year option season, the player posted on Twitter/X.
In response, Dallas Morning News beat writer Calvin Watkins confirmed that Lamb is, in fact, not there for the exercises.
“WR CeeDee Lamb is not participating in the Cowboys offseason program,” he stated on Twitter/X. “Why would he,” asks a person with knowledge of the negotiations—or lack thereof—on a contract extension?
Cowboys Will Have a Costly Offseason
The Cowboys have done very little to bolster their roster this spring, preferring to prepare for the payments that will be required to retain Lamb, quarterback Dak Prescott, and edge rusher Micah Parsons. Contracts have been the team’s main focus.
All will require large-scale transactions. Prescott will have a massive $55 million salary cap hit for the Cowboys to deal with if they decide not to pursue him. Parsons has a three-year contract at $3 million and a $51.4 million fifth-year option that expires in 2025. There, the urgency is not as great, but the Cowboys still need to offer him a new contract.
Lamb may be the most difficult of the three contracts. He is signed for $18 million in 2024, which is the price of his fifth-year option, as Schefter mentioned. However, he wants a hefty new deal right away and does not want to play under that contract.
The issue lies in his desire to surpass Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s $30 million annual salary. The Cowboys will make every effort to avoid paying that much in order to retain Lamb, but doing so could lead to an awkward position.
Rookie Deal Still Applies to CeeDee Lamb
We’re a long way from it—missing optional workouts isn’t a huge concern because they’re voluntary—but there hasn’t been much news regarding Lamb’s or Prescott’s contract developments. Prescott would be okay playing out his contract at $55 million if things keep going that way.
Lamb would not, though. Any disagreement he has with the team now has the potential to persist throughout the season and result in a holdout. It would be surprising if Lamb showed up at The Star for any team activities—even the planned team activities, which are mandatory and start on May 24—until he had a new contract in hand, according to a story earlier this month from Dallas Morning News beat reporter Michael Gehlken.
Lamb’s estimated worth exceeds Tyreek Hill, the wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, who makes a record $30 million annually. In 2022, Hill agreed to that contract. Since then, the pay cap for the league has gone up by 22.7%,” Gehlken noted.
To put it succinctly, $17.99 million is insufficient. In 2023, Hill and Lamb were chosen for the Associated Press first team All-Pro. Lamb is a top player whose pay is about to reset the market. Elite players do not take part in the spring under a rookie-contract team option.
