A Reminder Of How Insane Zeke's Contract Was, Is, And Always Will Be

[VaqueroTD]

If Zeke was the same RB he was his first 3 years, no one would be upset with the contract.

Guys like Henry and Emmitt have shown that some RBs do have longevity and I’m sure the Cowboys were betting on that.

Zeke forced the Cowboys to put up or shut up with his holdout and it was an extremely smart business decision on his part.

Lesson learned and move on. I would say lesson was learned because of Pollard’s franchise tag.

 

[Big_D]

They had 3 all pros on the Oline and that money would’ve been much wiser spent in other areas. Zeke was good, not worth a deal to that degree. It did nothing but strap the team for the next 4 years!

 

[khiladi]

Zeke was amazing early on. He got greedy, held out, got paid and basically quit. He was so terrible last year it isn't even funny. He is the modern day athlete personified. He cared about his money and his brand. I do not blame him for it but I do not respect him for it either. In the end people and players always show who they really are. Fat boy is a man who was given incredible physical gifts and was able to use them to get everything he ever wanted. Congrats to him now disappear.

Please man.. every old player would have done the same if the market was like it was. Back then, teams had all the control and you can see how the players acted with the CTE lawsuit in 2012 and ten retired players just sued in February over retirement pension benefits. They all loved modern free agency the day it came.

People act like football and playing for a particular team is God’s work.

Earl Campbell to this day regrets his punishing running style. When you got to wake up with the pains everyday in the silence of your bedroom with no cheering fans, who have moved on, let alone the teams FO, then come back to me.

 

[Jarntt]

I think you're wrong.

RBs are not going to be paid like this anymore. They don't last long and they are replaceable.

But the cap will continue to go up and so will all salaries. RBs may lag, but they'll eventually get there. Heck, we have a kicker in the NFL making $6M per

 

[khiladi]

Very telling, huh?

Ekeler actually requested it, but it doesn’t change the point and like you said, “very telling”. The fact is, especially when you got talent at QB like that and in a passing era, RBs are replaceable.

Dallas though, was slightly different as they gave Zeke the contract, because they considered him the center of their offense, not Dak. And that in and of itself is telling. As putting faith in Dak led to a chain reaction of questionable decisions.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Ekeler actually requested it, but it doesn’t change the point and like you said, “very telling”. The fact is, especially when you got talent at QB like that, RBs are replaceable.

I think most of us here know that if not for Zeke there would be no Dak right now.

Zeke won the rushing title by over 300 yards his rookie season, but guess who wins OROY?

 

[Cmac]

Micah.....make sure you read this, and watch the response on this board when you come off the rookie contract. Some on this Board don't like players outperforming their contracts.

 

[mardwin]

The Cowboys set the standard for overpaying their players.

Zeke
Dak
Tank

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I think you're wrong.

RBs are not going to be paid like this anymore. They don't last long and they are replaceable.

And then there is inflation and growth.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Micah.....make sure you read this, and watch the response on this board when you come off the rookie contract. Some on this Board don't like players outperforming their contracts.

You don't mind when players get paid and then stop producing at the level that got them paid?

 

[Proof]

As an aside, Chargers are in the same spot as Cowboys with Zeke on the rookie contract, except they have Herbert and fired Lombardi. They’ve basically told Ekeler to pursue FA to seek a trade.

They aren’t giving him a massive contract.

this is already ekelers second contract. which he signed after they drafted herbert

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

And then there is inflation and growth.

That "growth" is called the NFL seeing that RBs are easily replaceable.

Which we're already starting to see.

 

[Proof]

Micah.....make sure you read this, and watch the response on this board when you come off the rookie contract. Some on this Board don't like players outperforming their contracts.

zeke didn't out perform his contract. kinda the point.

 

[mardwin]

I think most of us here know that if not for Zeke there would be no Dak right now.

Zeke won the rushing title by over 300 yards his rookie season, but guess who wins OROY?

We are all hoping for that now.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

You draft a RB.

You run him until the wheels fall off.

You don't sign him to a second contract.

You move on.

Rinse and repeat.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

That "growth" is called the NFL seeing that RBs are easily replaceable.

Which we're already starting to see.

The new TV contract has projections of a salary cap increase of over 10%. Handwaving at a trend and thinking it is going to last forever is foolishness.

 

[khiladi]

this is already ekelers second contract. which he signed after they drafted herbert

Didn’t know.. based on what you said, I checked and he’s in the final year, so it looks like they are planning to move in anyways, as they allowed him to seek a trade. And his deal was for 4 years 24.5 million, much less than Zeke’s, so it was never really that much.

 

[jsb357]

There will never be a RB paid like him again.

 

[TX_Yid]

He did lead the league in rushing 2 of his first three years and it would have been 3 in a row had he not been suspended in 2017.

I wasn’t a fan of the contract but at the time I saw Zeke as our most important player. He fell off fairly quickly after the extension.

I think it was a worthy investment that unfortunately went bad.

RB should never be considered the most important ever again. We've never had trouble finding the next RB... Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Demarco Murray, Zeke, Pollard... You don't have to have a great RB. Zeke was great for a couple of years but tying up that money at that position was insanity.

And it's hardly the only bit of contract insanity we've seen from our GM.

 

[MyFairLady]

Please man.. every old player would have done the same if the market was like it was. Back then, teams had all the control and you can see how the players acted with the CTE lawsuit in 2012 and ten retired players just sued in February over retirement pension benefits. They all loved modern free agency the day it came.

People act like football and playing for a particular team is God’s work.

Earl Campbell to this day regrets his punishing running style. When you got to wake up with the pains everyday in the silence of your bedroom with no cheering fans, who have moved on, let alone the teams FO, then come back to me.

Did you read my post? I literally said he is the modern athlete and that I do not blame him for it but personally I will remember him as a slob and a sell out. Earl Campbell is one of my all time favorite players and I will always remember him as a god among men. If Earl had the chance to do it over and make bank and retire early would he? Even if it meant no Hall of fame and instead of loving you forever people think of you as a turd and soon forget? Perhaps. Some would and some wouldn't. Like you say times have changed.