CeeDee Lamb contract extension: Cowboys, star WR agree on four-year, $136 million deal

FRISCO, Texas — The cat-and-mouse game between Cowboys 2023 All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas front office (Jerry and Stephen Jones) ended with the end play both sides wanted: Lamb will remain a Cowboy for the foreseeable future as the two sides agreed to a contract extension, the team announced Monday afternoon.

Dallas is re-signing Lamb, who will be 25 entering the 2024 season — his fifth year in the NFL — to a four-year extension worth $136 million, CBS Sports chief NFL insider Jonathan Jones confirmed. He now becomes the NFL’s second-highest-paid non-quarterback when the average-per-year total of his contract is $34 million. Lamb’s deal includes $100 million guaranteed and a $38 million signing bonus, the largest ever for a wide receiver. He trails the $35 million APY set by Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, who signed a four-year, $140 million contract on June 3.

“I think CD is one of the best players in the NFL,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said at a Dallas pre-draft press conference on April 23. “I think he plays a very important role in the success of a quarterback because of his position. I think if you look at complementary football, he does it all for you. He’s versatile in where we can put him, what types of things we can use him for. He’s dedicated in his practice and he’s physical. That really puts him at the top as a player. I’m trying to answer your question. I think the answer without saying anything is that I think he’s one of the top players in the NFL.”

Lamb led the NFL with 135 catches and finished second in the league with 1,749 receiving yards and third in the NFL in receiving touchdowns. His 135 catches and 1,749 receiving yards broke Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin’s single-season records from 1995, the last year the Cowboys won a Super Bowl. Lamb has earned the honor of wearing No. 88.

The Cowboys opted to wait on Lamb’s contract rather than try to set the market, something they did in 2019 when they re-signed running back Ezekiel Elliott to a six-year, $90 million extension. That line of thinking ultimately led them to re-set the market at the wide receiver position (with the exception of Jefferson).

Now, the Cowboys front office can focus on its other two All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott, who is entering the final year of his contract in 2024, and edge rusher Micah Parsons, who is eligible to sign an extension after playing three NFL seasons after being selected 12th in the 2021 NFL Draft.