Cowboys' Jerry Jones stands firm on delaying CeeDee Lamb's $136,000,000 contract extension - "It's a zero-sum game"
Jerry Jones revealed his thoughts on the alleged delay in signing star receiver CeeDee Lamb. The wideout was recently signed to a $136 million contract extension, which puts him in the top bracket for that position after Vikings' Justin Jefferson reset the market this offseason.
The Cowboys owner said that at no point during the negotiations were there any doubts within the organization that the wide receiver is a player who deserves a top contract. Instead, he put it down to getting all the details on paper and ensuring that it did not affect other parts of the team as well as making sure that CeeDee Lamb felt valued.
Crossing out the importance of having him during the preseason, as long as he is available for the regular games, Jerry Jones said to Stephen A. Smith about CeeDee Lamb,
"I'm not trying to be cute, but I don't see any rewards, or I don't see any penalties on your timer. On does he get on the field? And is he on the field when he ought to be out there? And so I had no urgency at all about getting him to the field."
The Cowboys owner pointed out salary cap constraints and how that affected his thinking, adding,
"It was important for us on every aspect to really try to husband as much of the resources that would go in Lamb's direction. It was critical for us to husband $1,000, $50,000, $100,000 because in our system, that's that much more that we've got to pay Parsons, or that's that much more for us to pay that young offensive lineman that we want to renew his contract three years from now. It's a zero sum game."
Jerry Jones' CeeDee Lamb signing based on long-term thinking
With his advancing age, people have often said that Jerry Jones might withdraw from being as invested in the Cowboys' operations as he is now. But belying that sentiment, the Cowboys owner said that he is always thinking about the long term, even beyond the period for which CeeDee Lamb has signed his new contract.
Putting on his general manager hat, he said,
"I'm looking at all times, certainly the short term part of any contract with any player. But I'm also looking longer term. I have to. I have to look three years down the road. If you will, sometimes maybe five years down the road."
Whether that timeframe also includes a potential Super Bowl win after going more than two decades without an appearance in the championship game is what the Cowboys fans would be most interested in.