Cowboys reportedly increase offer to CeeDee Lamb beyond $33 million per year
The Dallas Cowboys have reportedly upped their contract extension offer to CeeDee Lamb, meeting his request for more than $33 million per year, which in itself would make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL on an annual basis.
Additionally, the Cowboys have trimmed the length of their offer to four years, per a report from DLLS Sports. That would match the length of the record deal that Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson received earlier this offseason.
NFL Media reported last week that Lamb did not express interest in signing the offer the Cowboys had on the table at the time, which was believed to approach $33 million per year. That number would only trail Jefferson for the highest annual salary for an NFL receiver ($35 million).
Not only did Lamb want to see the Cowboys increase the average annual salary on their offer, but he also had issues with the cash flow and guaranteed money on the proposed deal, NFL Media added in its report at the time.
Lamb, 25, has held out of Cowboys training camp and didn't practice with the team at all during the offseason as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. As the season nears, the pressure to get a deal done has seemingly increased.
However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters earlier in August that the team had "no urgency" to get a deal done with Lamb. That remark caused Lamb to post "lol" on social media, causing a bit of an uproar.
Jones clarified his remark ahead of the Cowboys' preseason against the Los Angeles Rams.
"I understand completely the angst that's happening when you're anxious about and someone says anything about whether you're missed or not. Well, CeeDee, you're missed, OK?" Jones said on the Cowboys' pregame show. "But you're not missed out here competing, and it doesn't put any pressure any place on us."
A few days later, Jones told ESPN that both sides are "conscientiously working to get something done."
"We obviously do this because of how bad we want to be together," Jones added in his remarks to ESPN. "I know he wants to be a Dallas Cowboy and we want him to be a Dallas Cowboy, so I don't flare too much when we see something that might be taken the wrong way, I really don't."
Lamb is coming off a career year. He led the league in receptions (135) and was second in receiving yards (1,749). He was also third in receiving touchdowns (12).
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As Lamb enters the final year of his deal, the star wide receiver isn't the only pillar of the Cowboys franchise who's up for a new contract. Quarterback Dak Prescott is entering the final year of his deal, while star linebacker Micah Parsons became extension-eligible this offseason. Head coach Mike McCarthy is also entering the final year of his deal.
Prescott's situation might be the most urgent to get completed after Lamb's. In his comments to ESPN, Jones said that the team has had "ongoing" discussions with Prescott as well.
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Clarence Hill Jr., who covers the team for DLLS Sports, told "The Herd" what he thinks Prescott is looking for from the Cowboys.
"The baseline for Dak is $55 million [per year]," Hill said on Friday's "The Herd." "There's talks that he can get $60 or more on the free-agent market. So, what's the happy medium for both sides? The Cowboys want to sign Dak. Dak wants to stay in Dallas.
"But Dak's not going to take a bad deal. Dak's not going to take a lesser deal. He owes it to his family, to other quarterbacks to have a good deal."
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