FRISCO, Texas (AP) — CeeDee Lamb’s monthslong holdout with the Dallas Cowboys is over, and the All-Pro receiver is a close second to Justin Jefferson as the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Lamb and the Cowboys agreed Monday on a $136 million, four-year contract with $100 million guaranteed, three people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the extension hasn’t been announced.
Lamb missed all of training camp in California after also skipping mandatory minicamp in the offseason. The June absence at the club’s headquarters started a day after Jefferson agreed with the Minnesota Vikings on a $140 million contract that made him the highest-paid non-QB.
The average annual value of Lamb’s extension is $34 million, which is roughly twice what the 25-year-old former Oklahoma standout will make in the final year of his rookie deal this season.
Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged that a deal was in place.
“The reaction obviously was great,” McCarthy said during a conference call that was scheduled before the club reached a deal with Lamb. “Everybody in the office was fired up.”
Lamb was drafted 17th overall in 2020, when the Cowboys were shocked he was still available and didn’t hesitate on a pick at a position that wasn’t really a need at the time.
Jefferson went five picks later, then had at least 1,400 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons. Lamb wasn’t that prolific but closed the gap significantly last season with 1,749 yards and an NFL-best 135 catches. Lamb completed his trifecta of career highs with 12 touchdowns.
The agreement comes 13 days before Dallas’ opener at Cleveland on Sept. 8. That’s more time than the Cowboys had five years ago when running back Ezekiel Elliott ended a preseason-long holdout four days before the opener.
Before the Cowboys left for California, Lamb spent plenty of time with quarterback Dak Prescott. Now the pair will have a handful of practices to fine-tune their connection before facing the Browns.
Prescott has said he was sure Lamb was working out while away from the team, and McCarthy didn’t have any reason to doubt it.
“The overall conditioning I don’t think’s going to be a concern,” McCarthy said. “It’s really just more the connection and the little things, the details. He needs body-on-body, contested catches, have his contact balance tested and all those types of things. You really only get that playing football.”
While Lamb’s numbers early in his career weren’t as flashy as those of Jefferson, he has steadily improved in catches, yards and touchdowns each of his four seasons. Lamb’s first 1,000-yard season — and the first of three consecutive Pro Bowls — came in his second year.
A fifth year of increasing all three will be quite the challenge as the Cowboys chase a fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs coming off three straight 12-5 seasons. Dallas is 1-3 in the postseason those three years.
“Last year’s numbers, that’s a high bar,” McCarthy said of Lamb. “I think the biggest thing, he’s capable of it. We definitely want to be in the position at the end of this regular season where everybody’s playing their best football. As long as that lines up with big numbers, I think we’d all be happy.”
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