ORLANDO, Fla. — The Dallas Cowboys are no stranger to contract extension negotiations as of late, as Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, Tyler Smith and more could all make the case for a sizable deal in the near future.
One that could come sooner than all is the contract extension for CeeDee Lamb.
While Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that there is "not necessarily" an order to which extensions get done first on his team, the idea of getting Lamb done before fellow receiver stars such as Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson could be a big benefit in the end to his payroll – a payroll that will need every dime when trying to extend all of its young All-Pro talents.
Jones has often referred to massive extensions being a similar amount to paying multiple players in place from a salary cap standpoint and that the value has to match. In Lamb's case, finding that exact value could be tough for both sides to come to an agreement on, but Jones knows it's one he will want to make.
"He's out there and he's more valuable than anybody else," Jones said on Tuesday. "But 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."
Once the deal is done, the usage comes into play to get the value out of the deal. Coming off a season where Lamb set franchise records for receptions (135) and receiving yards (1,749), that usage is undeniable at the negotiation table.
"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."
