Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb enters 2024 under contract with his fifth-year option, but reportedly has no aspirations to play without a long-term deal in place. If the Cowboys can’t get Lamb locked up quickly, this would be a mistake.

According to Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News, CeeDee Lamb might skip the Cowboys’ offseason workouts that begin this Monday due to not being under contract beyond the 2024 season.

Should anyone freak out about Lamb missing workouts in April? Not at all. Lamb is one of the best athletes in the NFL and there’s no concern regarding his physical status Week 1 in September. However, with the contract discussions not resolved, this puts the Cowboys in a tricky bind.

The Cowboys need to lock up the future of this team very soon, or else they have the potential to lose Lamb, franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, and their best defensive player Micah Parsons. These are three big-time players, the elite at their positions, who will demand high-dollar contracts when they put pen to paper with an NFL team.

CeeDee Lamb’s agents are Tory Dandy and Jimmy Sexton of CAA Sports. These two help represent, either together or individually for the agency; Hollywood Brown from Kansas City, AJ Brown from Philadelphia, DK Metcalf from Seattle, and Deebo Samuel from San Fransisco, just to name a few. These agents at CAA Sports have helped get their clients to elite playoff teams while making a good chunk of change.

Fortunately, the Cowboys are one of the elite teams in the NFL. They’ve won 12 games in three consecutive years and the only team to have a higher winning percentage than the Cowboys in that timeframe are the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. A winning establishment is in place for the Cowboys with an almost guaranteed spot in the playoffs each year.

Now here comes the money aspect. The Cowboys have been reluctant to offer free agents lucrative contracts in the past, as we mentioned in our plea to Jerry Jones, but they do a fair job of retaining their own. The likes of Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Dez Bryant, Tony Romo, and more were with the Cowboys for their entire careers or most of their prime. If you’re drafted by the Cowboys and are excelling in your prime, they rarely let you walk.

But there’s only so much money to go around. The NFL lives in a cap space world. The Athletic predicts Lamb gets a 4-year deal starting in 2025 for $125 million. That’s over $31 million per year. That is 31 million per year you won’t have to use on Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, or the rest of your team.

Switch to Prescott real quick. Joe Burrow is the highest-paid quarterback and player in the NFL with an average of $55 million. Every new contract resets the market. Dak Prescott, who finished 2nd in NFL MVP voting this past season, could exceed that mark and make more than Joe Burrow. That’s 55-60 million per year you can’t use on Micah Parsons.

Now let’s go to Parsons, who has been up in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation since he entered the NFL. Parsons is under contract until 2025 with his fifth-year option for 2026, but Parsons will (and rightfully should) become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Whenever that negotiation is finalized, Parsons will make north of 35 million per year with Nick Bosa the current highest averaging 34 million a season.

Totaling it up, the Cowboys are projected to use a minimum of $120 million on three salaries. Right now the NFL has a $255 million cap number, so if the cap number doesn’t go up at all, you’re talking 47% of your team’s cap will be taken up by these three players. Assuming the cap does increase, you might realistically predict these players allotting for 40% of your team’s salaries.

I bring these numbers up to make you realize the reality. Contract negotiations are never based on what a player “deserves.” How often was Tom Brady the highest-paid player in the NFL? Oftentimes he wasn’t the highest-paid player on his own team. The negotiations are primarily based on the market. The mentality is looking at the rest of the NFL at your respective position and pushing for more than what they got. Lamb, Prescott, and Parsons can all play that card.

So before the next wide receiver resets the market like Stefon Diggs, Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase or Jaylen Waddle, the Cowboys should lock up CeeDee Lamb. The longer they wait, the more expensive Lamb will be to retain. And in two years, the contract could look like a bargain for the team.

With the departure of Michael Gallup and the age variable for Brandin Cooks, CeeDee Lamb is a necessity at the wide receiver position. He’s a huge asset to this team’s offensive success. You want to keep Lamb happy and keep Lamb for a long time.

Enough with the games. Get the deal done.