For yet another year, contract holdouts have become one of the biggest storylines out of NFL training camp, with the Dallas Cowboys’ dispute with edge rusher Micah Parsons dominating recent headlines.
It’s a second straight year that Dallas is dealing with one of its star players holding out – wide receiver CeeDee Lamb did the same last year before signing an extension. Holdout situations are not a new phenomenon for the Cowboys, a team that consistently deals with more than its fair share of off-the-field drama and distractions.
However, Dallas isn’t the only team in NFL history to experience rough patches in contract negotiations, even if the Cowboys have been dealing with them more frequently lately.
Here’s a timeline of some of the most notable contract holdouts in NFL history, as well as a Cowboys-specific timeline detailing their disputes over the years:
Notable NFL contract holdout timeline
Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams (1985)
Dickerson set the all-time, single-season rushing record with 2,105 yards in 1984 and wanted to cash in on his success with a new contract. When the Rams refused, Dickerson sat out the first two games of the 1985 season before eventually returning to action and helping Los Angeles to the playoffs with his 1,234 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
The running back’s contract issues with the Rams were never fully resolved, and he was subsequently traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 1987.
Bo Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1986)
The Buccaneers hosted Jackson on a visit to team facilities while he was still in college, but their use of a private plane to get him there rendered him ineligible to play his final season of college baseball. Jackson was so furious with Tampa Bay that he refused to play for them despite being the No. 1 overall pick of the 1986 NFL Draft.
He went on to begin his baseball career with the Kansas City Royals instead. The next year, the then-Los Angeles Raiders drafted Jackson in the seventh round, with then-Raiders owner Al Davis allowing Jackson to wait to report to the team until the baseball season ended. Jackson played four years with the Raiders before a hip injury forced him to retire from the sport.
Kelly Stouffer, Arizona Cardinals (1987)
One year after Jackson made headlines for sitting out the 1986 season as the No. 1 pick, Stouffer – the sixth overall pick by the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1987 – sat out all of his rookie season due to contract issues. The Cardinals moved to Arizona the following year and traded Stouffer to Seattle for two fifth-round picks and a first-rounder.
Stouffer played in 22 games for the Seahawks and went 5-11 in his 16 starts for the team.
JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders (2007)
Russell’s holdout lasted all of his first training camp and extended through the first week of the 2007 regular season before the Raiders signed their No. 1 overall pick to a six-year deal. Perhaps in hindsight, the Raiders wish they had let that holdout continue indefinitely.
Darrelle Revis, New York Jets (2010)
After playing out his first three seasons with the Jets, Revis sat out all of training camp and preseason action waiting for a new contract. He finally got a four-year deal with New York a week before the team’s regular-season opener.
Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks (2018)
Thomas took a page out of Revis’ book when it came to his contract negotiations, though his story had a less happy ending. The Seahawks’ safety sat out all of training camp and preseason activities as he held out for a contract, but never ended up reaching an agreement before he returned to the team just in time for Week 1.
Four weeks later, Thomas was flipping the bird to the Seahawks’ sideline as he was carted off the field with a broken leg. It was his last game in Seattle.
Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers (2018)
In January 2018, Bell warned the Steelers that he’d consider sitting out the season if the team were to place the franchise tag on him for a second straight year. That March, the Steelers used the franchise tag on Bell, who refused to sign the tag and went on to sit out the entirety of the 2018 season.
He signed with the Jets in free agency the following offseason.
Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers (2019)
Gordon had been averaging over 900 yards per season in his first four years with the Chargers heading into his fifth-year option season with Los Angeles, and he wanted to cash in on an extension. He went on to hold out of training camp, the preseason and the first three games of the regular season before reporting to the team with no new deal.
Gordon started 11 games and rushed for 612 yards and eight touchdowns in his last year with the team that drafted him.
Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs (2023)
Jones is one of the most recent notable holdouts in the NFL. His began at the end of July 2023, when the defensive tackle did not report to Chiefs training camp, and continued until after Week 1 of the 2023 regular season. Jones still took in the Chiefs’ Week 1 game against the Lions from his suite at Arrowhead Stadium before signing a one-year deal and returning to the team in time for Week 2.
Jones went on to have a career year for Kansas City, recording 10.5 sacks and making his second straight All-Pro first team. After the season, he signed a five-year extension worth $158.75 million.
Notable Cowboys contract holdouts
RB Duane Thomas (1971)
Thomas’ story is one of the NFL’s most fascinating. The 1970 first-round pick led the league in rush yards per attempt in his rookie season, then demanded a reworked contract ahead of his second year. The Cowboys didn’t play ball, and Thomas ripped into the team before refusing to report to training camp.
Dallas then traded the running back to the New England Patriots, but the Patriots petitioned then-league commissioner Pete Rozelle to void the trade within days, thanks to Thomas butting heads with head coach John Mazur.
So Thomas headed back to Dallas and refused to speak to his fellow players, coaches or the media during the 1971 season, a season in which he led the league in touchdowns before the Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl. Dallas traded him to the Chargers the following offseason.
RB Emmitt Smith (1993)
Smith led the NFL in rushing yards (1,713) and touchdowns (18) in 1992, then sat out of training camp and the Cowboys’ first two games in 1993. Dallas went 0-2 without Smith, then paid him with a four-year, $13.6 million deal.
He went on to lead the league once again in rushing yards (1,486), won the MVP, and helped the Cowboys win another Super Bowl, where he was named the game’s MVP as well.
RB Ezekiel Elliott (2019)
After three excellent seasons with the Cowboys to begin his career, Elliott held out almost all of training camp for a new contract before his fourth season began. The result was a six-year, $90 million extension, which preceded four consecutive years of declining production before Dallas released him in 2023.
OG Zack Martin (2023)
After an excellent nine seasons with Dallas to start his career – nine years that included six appearances on the All-Pro first team – Martin held out of training camp while trying to receive a new deal from the Cowboys.
Ironically, team owner/general manager Jerry Jones said at the time that part of the reason he and the team were hardballing negotiations was because ‘We’ve got a guy out here, (Micah) Parsons, who’s going to need a little money,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
Martin received his deal – a two-year, $36.85 million contract – and played it out before retiring after last year.
WR CeeDee Lamb (2024)
Before Parsons, Lamb was the most recent Cowboys holdout. He didn’t attend any offseason activities with the team after leading the league with 135 catches and setting career highs with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The holdout ended when he signed his four-year, $136 million deal in late August last year.