Details of CeeDee Lamb-Cowboys negotiations reveal Jerry Jones got fleeced

It happened five months later than it should have, but the Dallas Cowboys signed star receiver CeeDee Lamb to a blockbuster four-year million contract extension. Lamb is now the second-highest-paid wideout in NFL history in terms of annual average value ($34 million) and guaranteed money ($100 million).

Lamb also set the record with a $38 million signing bonus. The All-Pro is now en route to the Cowboys' facility to sign his new deal and sit down with Mike McCarthy to finalize the end of his holdout and discuss a ramp-up plan.

Lamb's extension is worthy of popping champagne, but he should have been signed a year ago. There's no reason it should have taken this long. Even if Lamb wasn't willing to negotiate last summer, the fact negotiations dragged out until two weeks before the Week 1 is, to put it frankly, embarrassing.

There's no doubt that Lamb drove a hard bargain but the details of his negotiation show that an agreement should have been reached "forever" ago. They also reveal just how bad Jones got played at the negotiation table.

Contract negotiations prove Cowboys should have signed CeeDee Lamb ages ago

According to NFL Network's Jane Slater, the Cowboys were reluctant to budge from their $32.5 million per year offer before eventually raising it to $33 million. A source told Slater that Lamb and his cap "have been at 34 (million annually) forever."

This just in: Jerry Jones has lost another negotiation. In the end, Jones always caves to his superstar's demands. It happened with Ezekiel Elliott in 2019 when he gave Elliott the then largest contract ever for a running back. Ever stubborn, Jones also lost out to Dak Prescott, who got $40 million per year after playing under the franchise tag in 2020.

That Lamb reportedly wanted $34 million for "forever" makes it so much more pathetic that it took until August 26 for a deal to get done.

It was easy to project Lamb's extension after Justin Jefferson got $35 million. Lamb was always going to want close to top-of-the-market money. While nobody expected Lamb to get more than Jefferson, logic said No. 88's demand would check in right below the Vikings star. $100 million guaranteed is $10 million less than Jefferson and $16 million more than the next receiver.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that Lamb is signed through 2028. He didn't have to participate in every practice of camp and he wouldn't have played in preseason.

However, Lamb is now working on a two-week deadline to get ready for Week 1. Historically, players who have held out until late August have started that season slow. Those players have also suffered soft-tissue injuries at a concerning rate because of their truncated ramp-up period.

We can only hope that Lamb avoids that. He's been training vigorously all offseason but it's impossible to replicate an NFL practice with a private workout.

Jones' stubbornness could still yet come home to roost. He was always going to get taken to the cleaners by Lamb.

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