OXNARD, Calif. – Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb, unlike other wide receivers, was unable to land a contract extension and is not expected to report to training camp with the rest of his team on Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter learned from sources Tuesday night.
Lamb is entering the final year of a contract that was supposed to pay him $17.99 million this season, and the Cowboys have braced themselves for the All-Pro to miss the start of training camp.
The strike won't become official until Wednesday, but Lamb was not on the team's charter flight out of Dallas on Tuesday. That flight is not required, however, and a number of players, including quarterback Dak Prescott, were already on campus at the River Ridge Residence Inn before buses arrived in the afternoon.
The Cowboys' first practice is scheduled for Thursday.
Lamb missed the mandatory minicamp in June, which resulted in him being fined a total of about $100,000, but the team can take it back. The collective bargaining agreement requires him to pay a non-refundable daily fine of $50,000 for each day of training camp he misses.
“I mean, he's clearly a big part of everything we do and we're obviously going to miss his presence, but while he's taking care of the things he needs to do, we've got to take care of our business too,” Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith said. “And I think that's the best thing we can do as teammates: just make sure we maintain the standard in his absence so that when he comes back, we're a well-oiled machine and we're operating at 110%.”
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Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson set a new benchmark in the market with a four-year, $140 million contract that included $110 million guaranteed. With an annual average of $35 million, Jefferson was the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.
The Cowboys and Lamb's agent have been in talks for the past few weeks but have not yet been able to agree on a deal that would make Lamb the highest-paid receiver in team history and challenge Jefferson's contract.
Last year, Zack Martin missed three weeks of training camp and accumulated about $1 million in fines before receiving a revised contract that guaranteed him $36 million for 2023 and 2024 – more than the $27.5 million he was originally scheduled to earn.
Lamb is coming off the best season of his career, setting a team record and leading the league with 135 catches for 1,745 yards, second-best in the NFL. He also scored 14 touchdowns (12 caught) and was named to the All-Pro first team.
