Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones called wide receiver CeeDee Lamb “more valuable” than anybody else this week amid contract talks. The team is heavily prioritizing Lamb this offseason, but there’s no timeline for them to get a deal done. Dallas exercised the former first-rounder’s fifth-year option last year, so if there is no extension this offseason, he’ll be playing the 2024 season on a $17.991 million contract.
“He’s out there and he’s more valuable than anybody else,” Jones said on Tuesday at annual league meetings. “But (being) that valuable, to have to give up four or five players to have him, you have to get that reconciled. That’s what I’m trying to say. It’s a lot quicker and easier said than done.”
The Cowboys have already released one receiver this offseason. They cut Michael Gallup, making him a free agent and clearing $9 million in cap space. He’s since taken visits to the Ravens and Panthers. Despite putting on a clinic in frugality this offseason, Dallas may still not have the capital to make Lamb the highest-paid receiver in the league. With the team trending towards not extending quarterback Dak Prescott, there’s a huge cap hit coming for 2024. The QB’s cap hit is roughly $55 million, even after converting some of his salary into a signing bonus.
“Whoever has CeeDee, and I hope it’s us, they’re going to use him,” Jones said. “You have to. You just have to get that kind of mileage out of him. What has he shown us? That he’s capable of carrying that load. We’ve gotta have focus.”
CeeDee Lamb shooting for top of the list in compensation
After leading the league this season with 135 receptions, Lamb told teammate Micah Parsons on his The Edge podcast that he wants to be “one of” the top-paid receivers in the league, if not the highest-paid.
Right now, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is the highest-paid with a per-year average salary of $30 million. As it stands, without an extension, Lamb would make $17.991 million in 2024 after the Cowboys opted in to his fifth year on his first-round rookie deal.
“I can’t give you no numbers right now, but I’ll tell you this, [I want to be] one of the top-paid receivers for sure, if not the [highest-paid receiver],” Lamb said, via Jon Machota. “That’s always the goal.”
This season, Lamb posted 1,749 receiving yards (second in the league) and 12 touchdowns (third in the league) on 135 receptions (first in the league).
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