All offseason, the possibility of a new contract for Dallas Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott has been a hot button issue among media and fans alike. Not because Ezekiel Elliott isn’t a great player and worthy of top running back money, but because the idea of paying running backs north of $15 million a year isn’t as simple as, “Is he worth it?”
There is significant evidence that the running back position experiences a significant decline in production around their age 28 season and few running backs play into their 30’s with good to elite production. Ezekiel Elliott, though he’s experienced heavy usage in his first three seasons, could be the exception to the rule.
Well, knowing his worth to the Dallas Cowboys he’s expecting a heavy payday at some point in the next couple of seasons. Elliott is under contract through 2019 and the Cowboys picked up his rookie option for 2020. So, technically, Elliott wouldn’t be a free agent until the 2021 offseason. However, much like in the case of Todd Gurley, Elliott’s looking to get paid early to maximize his prime years as the Dallas Cowboys running back.
Within the last hour, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk released a report that Ezekiel Elliott is planning on holding out of training camp if he doesn’t receive a new contract, per a “league source.” It should be noted that Mike Florio has had some missteps in his reporting of Dallas Cowboys news, most notably the perpetuating a rumor that Dez Bryant was caught on videotape doing something at a Wal-Mart, that would have a “Ray Rice type of impact.” A tape that has never been discovered or produced and a story that’s completely died off since it was originally reported in 2015.
Given the recent news that Melvin Gordon is planning a training camp hold out, it should come as no surprise that Elliott is being mentioned similarly. ESPN even mentioned the idea of Elliott and a looming contractual holdout in a piece earlier today, but their prediction pointed to 2021 and wasn’t a report based on fact or a source, but a prediction for next year.
The two-time NFL rushing champ is scheduled to count $7.9 million in 2019 and just over $9 million in 2020 against the salary cap. His salary for 2019 is only $3.8 million. Elliott certainly has earned the right to be paid like Todd Gurley ($14.37 million per year), Le’Veon Bell ($13.13 million per year), and David Johnson ($13 million per year) despite having two more years on his deal.
In looking at the long-term impact of Elliott’s contract, I’ve advocated that if the Dallas Cowboys intend to pay Elliott, now’s the time to do it. A contract extension now, that adds three or four more years onto his existing deal would get Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys to his age 28 or 29 season. In a well-structured contract, they’d have opportunities to get out at the back end if Elliott experienced a significant decline in production.
Ezekiel Elliott’s contract is going to continue to be a hot button issue until he’s either signed to an extension or it’s made known that the Dallas Cowboys have no intention of extending him. Currently, there aren’t any other sources confirming Elliott’s plan to hold out of training camp, which starts July 27th, but it’s a story that we’ll continue to follow here on InsideTheStar.com.
Update: 7/16/2019 10:42 am.
Charles Robinson, Senior Reporter for Yahoo! Sports provided some insight into the thinking of Elliott and his representation.
1. Elliott hasn’t made a decision to hold out of #Cowboys camp…yet. But he’s absolutely thinking it through and definitely wants an extension in the works. This was going to be a week where he and his people laid out their options and made continued overtures to the Cowboys.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 15, 2019
2. #Cowboys Elliott knows his value is at a high point right now and wants to protect himself with a long term deal, because he’s expecting to carry the load in a big way this season. He absolutely want some longer term security from a new deal.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 15, 2019
3. Elliott’s extension push wouldn’t be a surprise to the #Cowboys. The lines of communication have been open with Zeke’s camp for more than a month. There has been a continuing dialogue about a Zeke deal in ownership and a team source told me Stephen is running point in talks.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 15, 2019
4. From what I‘ve gathered about where this is headed, a big part of this is whether the two sides are feeling good about the progress of talks. If #Cowboys are making a serious push to get an extension worked, I believe that would impact whether Zeke shows for the start of camp.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 15, 2019
5. Bottom line: Zeke hasn’t settled on holding out (yet) and #Cowboys haven’t shut down extension talks (yet). But it’s going to be fluid this week. If Cowboys aren’t proactive about a deal, I think this could go sideways fast. It hasn’t yet. This will be an important week.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 15, 2019
It certainly seems like holding out is on the table for Ezekiel Elliott and his representation, but no decision has been made at this point.
Check back with us for updates on Ezekiel Elliott’s contract extension.
