
Adam Schefter says CeeDee Lamb will not top Justin Jefferson’s new contract
The Dallas Cowboys better have rakes at The Star in Frisco because they are going to be picking up a bunch of leaves for the foreseeable future.
In case you have no idea what we are talking about, on Monday Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson completely reset the market at the position with a 4-year, $140M contract extension. Notably among the details of Jefferson’s extension was the fully guaranteed money. Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill previously held the top spot at $52.5M and Jefferson came in with a staggering $88.7M.
All offseason the Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb have essentially been waiting on this deal as it will serve as the framework for Lamb’s new one with the team, presuming one gets done (a safe presumption).
Adam Schefter does not believe CeeDee Lamb will top Justin Jefferson’s deal
With the facts now known, we can begin to anticipate what Lamb will ultimately get. The laws of supply and demand partly suggest that he could come in north of those numbers, but one NFL insider does not necessarily believe that to be the case.
It was Adam Schefter who appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, and in talking about the Jefferson detail he was asked about what this means for the likes of Lamb.
“Do I think CeeDee Lamb is as good as Justin Jefferson? No.”
“Do I think he’s going to get that contract? No.”
“But how far south of Justin Jefferson is CeeDee Lamb going to get?”
Schefter answered his own rhetorical questions twice before posing the ultimate one, but the main takeaway is that he does believe Lamb will come in south of Jefferson.
Here are the pertinent numbers involved, courtesy of PFT:
The deal pays $88.743 million fully guaranteed at signing. The practical guarantee is $95.743 million, since it can be avoided only if he’s cut after one year.
It’s far more likely he’ll definitely be paid $125.743 million over four years, since $14.257 million of his year-four pay becomes fully guaranteed after only two years. (In all, $110 million is guaranteed for injury at signing.)
It’s the biggest contract ever given to a non-quarterback, with no back-end fugazi numbers aimed at pumping up the new-money average.
Here’s the cash flow: $38.063 million in year one, $69.993 million through two years, $95.743 million through three years, $125.743 million through four years, and $159.743 million through five years.
The length of contract is likely one that makes the Cowboys squirm given that it is a four-year extension and the team generally likes something longer than that. But there are more pressing matters.
It seems like a formality at this point that Lamb will come in at $35M per year at the very least, but again there is a bigger elephant in the room.
The most logical number that Lamb’s camp has now circled is the $88.7M fully guaranteed at signing. Will the Cowboys come to terms on that? If not how far south (as Schefter put it) will they come in? As noted Tyreek Hill is now second at $52.7M so there is quite the gap to play around with.