I thought very highly of the kid on a personal level before this contract blackmail attempt.
Dak has been all above board. He just wants more than they're willing to give. I don't think any worse of Dak. Bidness is bidness. I have increasing doubts he's playing bidness right, but I can see why he'd think he's doing right.
I didn't blame Zeke either. The league is designed to screw elite RBs on their rookie contracts. They *shouldn't* get a huge 2nd contract because their elite performance is *extremely* unlikely to last through their 2nd contract, so I wouldn't have paid Zeke one. In that case, RBs should hold out to preserve wear and tear available to their 2nd contract.
Compare to Dlaw gaming his shoulder last year. That was hardball. A show of bad faith. I wouldn't have signed Dlaw even if healthy, but it was just bad bidness for Jerry to sign DLaw after that.
I don't hold it against Dak. But naturally, if it doesn't look like Dak is the future of the franchise, solidarity with Dak dips. We're cheering for uniforms. He won't be in a Cowboy uniform soon enough. Now that fans see that coming down the pike, solidarity drops even without any negative feelings about Dak's negotiating tactics.
Even though intellectually I don't expect players to have that same solidarity with the uniform at all, to *see* that lack of solidarity in action *feels* different. The suspension of disbelief about players being part of a team goes out the window. He's an entertainer cashing a check, and without that suspension of disbelief about The Team, he's just less entertaining. So is the team as a whole.
I wonder if PT Barnum understands this. I expect so. He's the marketing master.
I wonder if all the "Dak's our guy" was just marketing talk to keep that suspension of disbelief going. Maybe he said different things to Dak and agency in private. He should have.