On CeeDee Lamb and the Final (sort of) 53
Let's try to sort out a few things in this midweek and mid-process bag of footballs
CeeDee Lamb is in the building.
I know it seemed like a lot of nonsense to get to basically the number that everyone figured it would get to a few months ago, but welcome to the NFL contract game as owners try to keep a handle on this out of control fire hose that is firing money into the atmosphere.
There is so much money being drawn in on revenues and then 48% is being redistributed to the players.
If you are one of those weirdos who love football but also think players make too much money, then understand that the money is going to go somewhere, so you are cheering for the owners—who still make 52% of every penny—to make more money.
I am sorry, but if you want old billionaires to make more of your money, that is a weird opinion.
Now, is it also a weird world to know that CeeDee Lamb is making $34 million a year?
The number is staggering, and they are only going to keep going up. Before long, a player is going to make $100 million in a single year, and we are all going to shrug because there is really no other obvious reaction.
I feel like Lamb is the best football player on the Dallas Cowboys roster, and therefore getting him under contract through his prime is a very nice and important story for us to recognize. The size of the contract is, believe it or not, in line with the latest deals from around the league, and I don’t believe there is a WR I would be in a hurry to trade Lamb for in exchange.
I think he is phenomenal, durable, and full of ambition. Of course, I also get nervous about his body size and minimal armor, the danger he navigates in the middle of the field at top speeds, and soft-tissue injuries for guys who run fast. There is risk! And there is more than a little risk that he makes them happy they did this deal.
But the headline should be that they now have secured a top, top player through the entire next presidential term. That is a very good thing.
Now, let’s ask what this tells us about locking in Dak Prescott in the next week or two.