Report: Cowboys grant CeeDee Lamb permission to join Tom Brady's Saudi Arabian tournament

According to Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio, the Dallas Cowboys have granted wide receiver CeeDee Lamb permission to participate in the Sadui Arabian flag-football tournament run by Tom Brady. The event’s announcement came on Monday, and shortly after, Florio reached out to teams. Dallas got back to him, saying Lamb got the thumbs up.

“The Cowboys have responded by acknowledging that they have given permission to Lamb,” Florio said.

This tournament will take place well past the 2025 NFL season, scheduled for late March. Lamb won’t be in danger of missing any offseason workouts either, still getting plenty of time to prepare for 2026. Some might wonder why he even needs permission from the Cowboys but turns out, it’s something the Cowboys could block if they wanted to.

“The Standard Player Contract allows teams to prevent players from playing football elsewhere,” Florio said. “It also gives teams the ability to secure a court order preventing the player from participating in other forms of football.

“The NFL has said that Brady’s Saudi Arabian flag-football tournament is not an NFL initiative. The league also said it’s up to the teams to decide whether to allow their players to participate.”

Lamb is not the only NFL player who was announced as a participant for Brady’s tournament overseas. Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffery are in at running back, while Tyreek Hill joins Lamb as a wide receiver. You can throw second-year tight end Brock Bowers in there as well.

Three guys defensively are expected to be in the mix. Cornerback Sauce Gardner hopes to lock down opposing receivers. Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby get included to do what they do best — get after quarterbacks.

However, Florio did not get a definitive answer from any of their respective teams. Two, the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles, claim to be “looking into the issue.” No response came from the other three ball clubs.

Flag football is a popular topic at the moment, mainly due to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The NFL voted in favor of allowing players to participate and represent their country. Many could wind up being Team USA, potentially putting together a Pro Bowl-esque roster.

Exactly how the process looks, nobody knows yet. However, Lamb and the seven other players appear to be getting a head start. Even Brady might be throwing his name into the ring, as he semi comes out of retirement.