Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb’s (potential) penalties for missing training camp explained

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is going to make a lot of money. That is, after he has the opportunity to lose some money.

Lamb missed the entire mandatory minicamp while he waits for a new extension with the Cowboys, which will result in a maximum of $101,716 in fines. Lamb is still waiting for a new deal with just over three weeks left before the Cowboys report to Oxnard, California, for their next mandatory appearance: training camp.

If Lamb was willing to miss mandatory minicamp, it should come as no surprise that he’s also willing to sit out training camp. But at what potential cost?

Like minicamp, missing training camp wouldn’t break Lamb’s eventual bank account, but it would be expensive. And it would start to add up.

Under Article 7, Section G of the collective bargaining agreement, Lamb would be fined up to $40,000 per missed practice during training camp. He would also be fined an entire week of regular season compensation for each missed preseason game.

According to the CBA, training camp begins the day the team reports to camp and ends the Sunday before the week of the first regular-season game. The Cowboys will practice 17 times in Oxnard before playing their final preseason game. They will then have eight days of training camp before the Monday of the first game. The practice schedule for that final stretch has not yet been announced.

Lamb is also expected to earn $17.9 million on his fifth-year option this season. So if he misses all three preseason games, he would be due one week of salary for each. One week of salary on his current deal equals $999,444.

With all that said, if Lamb were to skip all 17 practices in Oxnard and all three preseason games, he would face a maximum fine of $3.68 million. That would be before the extra practices Dallas would have the week after the final preseason game and before the start of Week 1.

There is an interesting factor for Lamb in all of this, though. Lamb might not have to pay these fines if the Cowboys were willing to waive them.

According to the CBA, fines for missing training camp and preseason games are mandatory for those not on rookie contracts. That means they can’t be forgiven. The Cowboys had an example last season when right guard Zack Martin was hit with about $1 million in fines. Those had to be paid.

There was another example last season when San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa missed the entire training camp before signing a five-year, $170 million extension. Because Bosa had the fifth-year option, his penalties were not mandatory, meaning they could be waived. That’s exactly what the 49ers ultimately did.

The Cowboys could do the same once they reach an agreement with Lamb. If they didn’t, the cost of missing camp would be significant.