Instead of raving over the promising prospects of the 2024 season, most attention has been focused on the contracts Jerry Jones has yet to grant, one of which has resulted in the highest-profile contract holdout in the entire NFL this summer. Sure, we’re all waiting for QB Dak Prescott to get what will likely be a record-breaking contract extension, but at least Prescott is in camp. It is the continued absence of All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, however, that has fans feeling less than awesome about the upcoming season.
As much as any other team in the league seemingly, the Cowboys have made high-profile contract holdouts an all-too regular occurrence. Of course, it's the star players who have the sort of leverage necessary to stay away from training camp while bargaining for a new deal, but that shine is magnified many times when the star in question has a star on his helmet.
Here’s a look at the history of notable Dallas Cowboys contract holdouts.
CeeDee Lamb (2024)
Anyone who pays even the slight attention to the NFL could see this holdout coming from a mile away. Lamb was nothing short of phenomenal in 2023, racking up 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. That standout season earned him first-team All-Pro honors and solidified his place among the game's elite pass catcher alongside the likes of Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown. It just so happens those two players, as well as other top receivers, have cashed in big over the past few months with massive new contracts. Understandably, Lamb wants to be in the same tax bracket with those players. Zack Martin (2023)
Lamb’s holdout is only a year removed from the last major Cowboys holdout. Last season, future Hall of Fame offensive lineman Zack Martin stayed away from training camp until his contract was reworked to put him near the top of highest-paid offensive lineman. Even though he was 32 last summer, Martin was still a force and unquestionably worth top dollar. Jones played hardball with Martin in the press, allowing how the team needed to save money for future big-money contracts for players including Micah Parsons, but that was merely empty theater. On Aug. 14, several weeks into camp, Martin agreed to an extension that raised his pay more than $8 million per year. How did he repay his employer? Only by making his seventh All-Pro first team and his ninth Pro Bowl.
Ezekiel Elliott (2019)
It seems like a lifetime ago, but there was a time when it felt like the success of the Cowboys hinged on whether running back Zeke Elliottt was in the lineup. After a spectacular rookie season in 2016, the trouble-prone star was suspended for six games in 2017 under the league’s personal conduct policy after being accused of domestic violence. The team struggled to a 3-3 record to start that season without Elliott in the lineup, and it missed the playoffs that season. But Elliott bounced back with another monster year in 2018, winning the NFL rushing title. Before the 2019 season he wanted a new contract, even though he had two years left on his rookie deal. The holdout lasted nearly the entire length of training camp, and in early September, Elliott agreed to a deal worth a whopping $90 million. But there’s a reason running backs in the NFL rarely get those sorts of big money deals. In the ensuing seasons, Elliott’s numbers went down steadily before the Cowboys released him prior to the 2023 season, still owing him a lot of money. After an underwhelming season in New England, Zeke is back, but that doesn't change how his contract holdout, unlike Zack Martin’s, never paid off for anyone other than his own back account.
Emmitt Smith (1993)
It might be hard to believe it, but there was a time when the Jerry Jones era of the Cowboys timeline might’ve been more dramatic than it is even today. How many teams see a coach who won back-to-back Super Bowls leave after a drunken argument with his college buddy-turned-NFL owner boss? How many times did Michael Irvin get arrested or caught with drugs and prostitutes back in the ‘90s? But one soap opera had on-field implications that could not be denied. Emmitt Smith, who went on to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, was ready for a new, big payday after completing a season in which he led the league in rushing yards and helped the team win the Super Bowl. Smith sat out the entire training camp, then missed the first two games of the ‘93 regular season. Even with a roster including Troy Aikman, Irvin and many other stars, the team lost both of the games Smith missed. Jones relented, signed Smith to a new contract and watched his star RB lead the team to a 12-2 record the rest of the way while Smith was named to yet another All-Pro team. Oh, and the Cowboys won the Super Bowl again, and Smith was named MVP of the game. How’s that for an immediate return on investment?
Duane Thomas (1971)
Running back Duane Thomas had a notable contract dispute with the team following its first Super Bowl appearance. It was so odd that CBS Sports ranked it as the “ugliest holdout in NFL history.”Thomas, after only one season, wanted a new contract. That was relatively unheard of back then, and the likelihood of it happening was especially unlikely because of legendary Cowboys GM Tex Schramm’s tough, often adversarial, opposition to his players and their contract negotiations.
“The Cowboys then traded him to New England, where Thomas lasted just five days before the Patriots, in an unprecedented move, asked the league to reverse the deal after Thomas failed to get along with New England head coach John Mazur,” CBS Sports noted. “The league did decide to reverse the deal, which sent a disgruntled Thomas back to Dallas.”
Thomas reportedly refused to speak to other Cowboys players and coaches for that season, although he proved to be a valuable contributor to the team’s first-ever Super Bowl championship that year. But Thomas was not a Cowboy after that season and didn't last long in the league. Although he was praised by teammates for his talent, the running back has lived in Cowboys lore more for his public persona than his on-field triumphs.
