49ers Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk Skip Start of Mandatory Minicamps, Officially Signaling Holdouts

Amid a boom in the NFL’s wide receiver market, two prominent pass catchers have begun official pushbacks as they seek to join the party.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk everyone jumped the start of their teams’ mandatory minicamps on Tuesday. Both are seeking long-term extensions as they approach the final year of their rookie contracts.

Lamb and Aiyuk were both selected in the first round of the 2020 draft and are under contract for 2024 through team options exercised by the Cowboys and 49ers. Lamb will be paid $17.9 million in 2024 after earning $14.1 million over the first four years of his rookie contract. Aiyuk is set to earn $14.1 million after earning $12.5 million in his first four seasons. Each has outperformed their rookie contract and is in line for a lucrative long-term extension.

They begin their resistance one day after Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings reset the wide receiver market with a four-year, $140 million contract extension. His average annual salary of $35 million makes Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in football.

Jefferson’s contract tops a three-year, $96 million extension AJ Brown signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in April, putting even more pressure on the Cowboys and 49ers to pay for Lamb and Aiyuk.

A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Lamb is certainly seeking a contract near the top of the market after leading the league in receptions last season. Lamb recorded 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns to cement his status among the NFL’s top receivers.

Aiyuk isn’t on the same plane, but he prepared for a big extension with a standout campaign for a 49ers team that reached the Super Bowl last season. Aiyuk recorded 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and eight touchdowns as an integral weapon in San Francisco’s offense.

Aiyuk starts his endurance on the same day by running back Christian McCaffrey agreed to a two-year, $38 million contract extension that increases his salary by $4 million in each of the next two seasons and adds $24 million in guaranteed money. McCaffrey is the highest-paid running back in football.

According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, Lamb and Aiyuk are each subject to a fine of $16,953 for missing minicamp on Tuesday. If they missed all three days of minicamp, the fines would increase to about $100,000 in total.