Cowboys end futile contract battle with CeeDee Lamb: Contract grade, details

After months of needless drama and pointless haggling, the Dallas Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb have officially agreed to terms on a new contract, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Lamb will be paid $136 million over the next four years — an annual average of $34 million, making him the second-highest-paid non-QB in NFL history. This comes not long after the Minnesota Vikings inked Justin Jefferson to a historic four-year, $140 million contract, resetting the marketplace at the WR position.

Lamb undoubtedly earned this contract. He appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys a season ago, netting 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. The favorite target of MVP runner-up Dak Prescott, Lamb still has room to grow at 25 years old. He poses a threat at every level and is plainly one of the best live-wire athletes in the world.

With the Lamb contract settled after months of intense jockeying, both publicly and behind the scenes, Dallas fans (im)patiently await a resolution to Prescott's contract situation. The Cowboys' QB isn't engaged in the same active holdout, but Lamb's bag ought to coincide with a new deal for Prescott. The NFL's top wideouts still need a QB to deliver the football.

CeeDee Lamb agrees to four-year megadeal with Dallas Cowboys after months of drama

If the Cowboys were always going to hand Lamb this much money, it's a wonder it took so long. Odds are Lamb was pushing for more than Jefferson's $35 million AAV, but even then, it's not like Dallas comes away from this contract free of risk. Lamb should deliver four years of excellent football, but injuries often strike at random in the NFL, and there's no guarantee that Lamb's contract does not cause unwanted fallout in future free agent negotiations. The Cowboys only have so much money to spend, as Jerry Jones will gladly remind you.

Cue the "that's Tobias Harris money" comments.

There was plenty of drama to keep Dallas fans' blood pressure spiked while this saga unfurled. At one point, Jones said he felt "no urgency" to get Lamb's contract across the finish line, to which Lamb responded with a simple "lol" on X/Twitter.

All summer, the Cowboys fandom watched as top wide receivers lined up record-breaking deals. From Jefferson, to A.J. Brown, to Amon-Ra St. Brown, to DeVonta Smith, it was a productive summer for top wideouts and their agents. Lamb is late to the party, but it's better late than never. There was real fear bubbling up, a sense that Lamb could actually force his way out of Dallas.

Now Cowboys fans can rest easy. Lamb is going to operate as a pillar of Mike McCarthy's offense for the next four years. Assuming McCarthy sticks around that long, of course. Dallas has plenty of questions to answer on the postseason stage, but there's no doubting Lamb's innate talent and ability to impact winning.

This contract just had to happen. There's no way around it. Maybe $34 million is a smidge high, but such is life in the NFL nowadays. Good for CeeDee, man.

Grade: A