Ezekiel Elliott And The Cowboys Have Finally Reached A Deal – And It’s A Record-Setting One

ByJoey Heldon September 4, 2019inArticles›Sports News

The contract dispute between the Dallas Cowboys and running back Ezekiel Elliott featured more drama than a daytime soap opera. Elliott left the country entirely, opting to train in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. He also skipped his team’s training camp and preseason games. Meanwhile, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was yukking it up with the media, asking “who?” when questioned about Elliott.

Well, we can finally put all that behind us. Elliott and the Cowboys agreed to a six-year, $90 million extension. The deal includes $50 million guaranteed, the most ever for a running back. Elliott’s contract surpasses Todd Gurley ’s $45 million guaranteed deal from last year.

The 24-year-old running back will make $3.853 million this season and $9.09 million next year. If he plays through the end of this contract, he’ll make more than $100 million by 2026.

Ezekiel Elliott And The Cowboys Have Finally Reached A Deal – And It's A Record - 1

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Elliott was fined $40,000 for each day of training camp he missed and may have to pay back more than $1 million of his rookie deal signing bonus. The Cowboys can choose whether they enforce that fine.

Elliott has led the league in rushing yards since 2016, amassing 4,048 during that timeframe. He’s finished as the league-leader in two of those three seasons, just one of five players to do so since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.

He’s also had a handful of off-the-field issues. The league suspended him for six games in 2017 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension was handed down after an alleged assault of an ex-girlfriend the year prior. Elliott was never charged or arrested, though he was engaged in a lengthy legal battle.

Additionally, Elliott was involved in an altercation with a security guard this May. The NFL didn’t punish the running back in this case, though.

Despite the ups-and-downs, the Cowboys have stood by Elliott’s side. This new contract shows they’re willing to support him no matter what.

Elliott’s contract isn’t the first big money the Cowboys have handed out this offseason. Per Spotrac, they’ve given $313 million ($185 million practically guaranteed) to four players.

The #Cowboys have signed 4 players to $313M of total value contracts in the past 5 months (though only $185M is practically guaranteed) DeMarcus Lawrence 5 yr, $105M Ezekiel Elliott 6 yr, $90M Jaylon Smith 6 yr, $68M La’el Collins 5 yr, $50M — Spotrac (@spotrac) September 4, 2019

The move is one of three additional deals the Cowboys hope to get done quickly. With Elliott signed, they’ll work on negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper . Both could become unrestricted free agents next season, and the collective bargaining agreement doesn’t kick in until 2020. If the Cowboys don’t get deals done, the team will likely use the franchise and transition tags to keep both Prescott and Cooper.

But that’s all in the future. For now, the team is excited to get their workhorse back in town. He’ll have to get up to speed quickly – his first game is in five days.

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Dak Prescott Will Make More Than $30 Million Next Year – But Will He Be Happy?

ByJoey Heldon July 2, 2020inArticles›Sports News

It seems like ever since Dak Prescott replaced an injured Tony Romo , he’s had to deal with questions about his future. At first, it was whether he’d hold onto his starting job. Then, it was whether he could return the Dallas Cowboys to postseason greatness. And lately, it’s been whether he’ll get the contract he wants from the team.

We have an answer to that last one: No, at least not yet.

The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Prescott, which will give the quarterback $31.4 million next year. The two sides do have until July 15 to agree on a long-term deal, but it’s looking likely that Prescott will be playing under the franchise tag this year.

In most situations, receiving more than $30 million to play one season of football would be a dream come true. But Prescott was looking for a long-term contract worth about $40 million per season.

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Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Prescott and the Cowboys never really seemed close to coming to terms, and that could be an underlying issue. It may just be that paying Prescott that much money for several seasons could hurt the team financially. Or could it be something bigger?

Quarterbacks have been dominating the market over the past few years as more teams realize the importance of the position. However, even with the rising price of franchise quarterbacks, the most expensive player next season will be Russell Wilson , at $35 million. Prescott wanted more than that, and he doesn’t have the career pedigree of some of the other highest-paid quarterbacks, including Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers .

Instead of taking over that top spot, Prescott now finds himself the seventh-highest-paid quarterback in the league. That’s still nothing to scoff at, but it presents the possibility that the Cowboys don’t view Prescott in that same tier. The team gave extensions to running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper ; they could have done the same with Prescott, yet didn’t.

The COVID-19 pandemic adds another wrinkle to any contract negotiations. Professional sports teams are likely to lose a lot of money this year, and probably for several years to come. Maybe the Cowboys looked at the landscape and thought they’d say some money this year.

Whatever the case may be, it looks like Prescott is going to have to prove himself once again this year. If he can put up solid numbers and lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs, he’ll probably get the exact number he wants.

For now, he’ll have to be content playing under the franchise tag. It’s an expensive one-year tryout that could pay tremendous dividends.

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