The Ezekiel Elliott contract saga has reached the point where it has become exhausting. Cowboys fans have been waiting patiently for news on a new deal for Elliott, Dak Prescott, and Amari Cooper but have been fed conflicting information and false reports for months. Meanwhile, the club quietly locked up the services of stud LB Jaylon Smith and in a surprising move, right tackle La’el Collins as well. The most surprising thing about the Collins extension was that most Cowboy fans followers did not expect that the team could afford him with all of the other players that are due to be paid. Now that those team friendly deals are done it appears that Jerry Jones‘ analogy of “having enough salary cap pie to go around”truly does apply to his big three of Prescott, Zeke, and Cooper. With all three of them aiming to max out on market value it would appear difficult for the Cowboys to fit them all under the salary cap and not handicap their roster for years and years to come.
Before training camp began, most Cowboys fans and media members believed that Dak Prescott was the priority to sign before the season began. Ezekiel Elliott changed that perception by forcing Jerry Jones hand while threatening to hold out for regular season games. While Jerry talked a good game about not needing a leading rusher to win Super Bowls and not compromising the team for individual, it appears he may be ready to cave. Ezekiel Elliott has flown back to Dallas from Cabo and is widely expected to sign a contract extension. There are unsubstantiated claims that the deal is worth $90 over 6 years and will make him the highest paid running back in the history of the league. There are reports one minute that a deal is “close” and there are reports the next that both sides are still far apart. I expect that by the time you read this article the deal will already be done, but then again? Inevitably Elliott has tested Jerry’s resolve and Jerry will cave to his demands with his desire to win now being the prime motivation. This would be cause for celebration for the short term but maybe not the best thing for the future of the franchise.
First off, it must be said that Ezekiel Elliott is the best player on the Dallas Cowboys and is deserving of becoming the highest paid running back in the league. He has dominated the league as a runner during his 3 year career, he excels as a pass blocker, and he keeps opposing offenses off of the field. As Stephen Jones previously said “he is the staw that stirs the drink” for the Dallas Cowboys. But that said, he also a running back and being that means he is a depreciating asset. It is far more likely that his best years are behind him than they are in front of him. His punishing physical style will in all likelihood shorten his career shelf life. In addition to that he averages 400 touches per season which virtually guarantees that he wont last beyond the age of 30 in the NFL. Conversely, Dak Prescott is an ascending asset. A player that is still young and is likely to continue to improve while enjoying a relatively long career.
If the Cowboys sign Dak Prescott to a long term deal, it will be to secure their franchise QB for the future. However, if the Cowboys sign Zeke to a long term extension (with plenty of guaranteed money of course) it will not be for the long term benefit. They would simply be giving Elliott what he wants so that they can guarantee he will be available and happy for the next 2 to 3 years when their championship window is open. For an aging owner and a head coach on a one year deal, it is hard to argue that now is the time to roll the dice and go all in to try and win a championship.. The Dallas Cowboys chances of winning a championship right now are heavily reliant upon one Ezekiel Elliott. The trouble is, if the Cowboys do not win then they will have had to sacrifice some of their core talent in order to retain Zeke. It would not be Dak Prescott but it would be players like Byron Jones, Tyron Smith, or maybe even Amari Cooper. Further down the line it could be Leighton Vander Esch, Michael Gallup, or Xavier Woods. Is it really worth it to pay a running back, albeit the most elite RB in the league, when a rookie back can theoretically provide you 70% or 80% of the production at a fraction of the cost?
Ezekiel Elliott is a rare talent and his production cannot easily be replicated but the question is; How much of a difference maker is he? Does Ezekiel Elliott force teams to game plan against him? YES. Does Ezekiel Elliott wear down defenses and break their spirit? YES. Does Ezekiel Elliott do the little things that have value that cannot be quantified such as pass block and always fall forward when tackled? YES. Is Ezekiel Elliott a winner? Well, considering he is a former NCAA National Champion with the Ohio State Buckeyes and he put up staggering numbers in the 2015 college playoff…YES, YES, YES!!!!! The answer is definitely YES, Ezekiel Elliott is a huge difference maker. So then it is worth it to pay the man at any cost right? No, here is why.
Zeke is difference maker indeed but he is also comes with some baggage. The off the field stuff has been well documented. Even those that believe Elliott should not have been suspended for 6 games in 2017 and also do not think he deserved to be suspended this season cannot deny that he has made some questionable judgement calls over the years. For a player who was already suspended and just narrowly missed a second suspension he seems to make the same mistakes over and over again. His reputation as a partier contrasts drastically with his teammate and friend Dak Prescott. Franchises are more apt to pay top dollar for a franchise QB than a workhorse RB to begin with. Being the “bad boy” to Dak Prescott’s “boyscout” does nothing to increase Zeke’s perceived value in comparison. The fact that Elliott has held out to this point while Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper participated in training camp also speaks to that end. The circumstances are different with Dak and Cooper being in the last year of their deals and Elliott having to hold out in order to expedite his extension prior to next season but that does play a part in public perception. Public perception is important because that influences things such as jersey sales and sponsorship opportunities. It also may have an impact in the locker room. No player would come out and say it directly but there has to be an impact on some level. The “other guys” on the 53 man roster who showed up for training camp and spent time training and bonding with their teammates. It certainly did not help the situation that Zeke has aligned himself with Marshall Faulk who has openly criticized Elliot’s teammates in the public arena. https://cowboyscoffeetalk.com/what-the-faulk-marshall/ .
Beyond that, there is another issue that has not been discussed in the media or among fans. The issue is that Elliott has on more than one occasion quit on crucial plays in a football game. Most fans seem to have forgotten but Elliott was heavily criticized for this play in 2017. In a week 2 blowout loss against the Broncos, Elliott walks off in the opposite direction after a Dak Prescott interception. (top right of the screen)
Another lesser publicized example occurred in the 2018 week 9 loss to the Titans. Fast forward to the 9:30 mark in the highlight video below for the final play in that game.
On that final play, Dak Prescott is scrambling to his left under heavy duress from the Titans defenders. As Dak throws a desperation pass that falls incomplete, Ezekiel Elliott and the newly extended La’el Collins are both looking on and watching as defenders close in on Prescott. In the games crucial moment, it is understandable that neither Collins or Elliott would want to commit a penalty but to completely stand still on a broken play on 4th down to end the game shows a disappointing level of effort. Especially since their quarterback is letting it all hang out and trying to win the game. Dak shows tremendous heart on that play as he continues to fight despite playing terribly up to that point while Zeke simply does not.
That is the most worrisome part of the imminent Ezekiel Elliott contract extension. I worry that too much money in Zeke’s pocket leaves not enough pie for the Cowboys to retain some of their other young talented players. Most of all, I worry that they will have invested significant money on a player that simply does not have the IT factor that the much more heavily criticized Dak Prescott possesses. The IT factor that could ultimately lead the Dallas Cowboys to the promised land (Super Bowl championship). In any event, if the Cowboys do win a Super Bowl with Ezekiel Elliott as their running back there will be no price that Dallas Cowboys fans would not be willing to pay for his services.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode