Ezekiel Elliott contract isn't bad at all

[SteveTheCowboy]

Today I learned giving Zeke the largest RB contract in history is team friendly. When other teams are getting similiar or more production for a fraction. Cool

Yep. That is correct. Dallas is the only team to overpay a super star player or even overpay flat out bust. Ever...in the history of the NFL.

Ya learn something new everyday!

 

[75boyz]

This is what I always thought as well until Mr Flamma corrected me.

It's an awful deal for the team the way its structured.

Not only is THIS season fully guaranteed, but 2021 is as well.

If they dont cut him by March 2021, 2022 becomes guaranteed also.

So they will need to eat the entire salary for 2021 if they dont want him for 22.

They arent paying him 12 million to not be on the team, so he is definitely here through that season for sure, and theres no way in the world he would restructure.

The entire deal (minus the last two bogus ones) was basically a signing bonus with some spead out in game checks.

I'm stunned and surprised this deal is really like this.

I thought exactly what you did all along, but its structured to where it makes no sense to cut him before March of 2023.

Among the LAST of personalities I'd make all kind of guarantees to, I hope he at least has some dignity as far as what his playing legacy will be and gets himself in shape, and maybe football will be more important than partying. Hey, we can all hope right?

I appreciate this post. Was under false assumption as you were previously that the contract structure was different.
For all the accolades and descriptions regarding contract writing as shrewd, frugal and team friendly that Stephen receives, this one musta slipped through the cracks! Lol

 

[fivetwos]

I appreciate this post. Was under false assumption as you were previously that the contract structure was different.
For all the accolades and descriptions regarding contract writing as shrewd, frugal and team friendly that Stephen receives, this one musta slipped through the cracks! Lol

It did yeah.

First one I ever heard of where a seasons pay becomes fully guaranteed at the beginning of the league year BEFORE the upcoming one, virtually guaranteeing a no cut situation.

In fact it fully guarantees it. Forget the dead money, they would actually need to fork over game checks every week for 2021 with him not on the team to not have to have the same for 2022.

I'm not the only one apparently. The info in the OP is completely wrong, and the title couldnt be further from true.

 

[75boyz]

It did yeah.

First one I ever heard of where a seasons pay becomes fully guaranteed at the beginning of the league year BEFORE the upcoming one, virtually guaranteeing a no cut situation.

In fact it fully guarantees it. Forget the dead money, they would actually need to fork over game checks every week for 2021 with him not on the team to not have to have the same for 2022.

I'm not the only one apparently. The info in the OP is completely wrong, and the title couldnt be further from true.

Yeah, I'm totally with ya. Never seen this before on an NFL contract either. Like you mentioned in your post, could almost be seen as virtual guarantees(for lack of better words) as both the signing bonus and actual follow on playing years are "Almost seemingly" guaranteed unless quick and decisive roster decisions are made 18 months in advance of the coming year.

Not quite sure how common knowledge this is to most Cowboys fans as well.

Guess the fine print on contracts gets mis reported more often than is believed.

Good job by Flamma and you, I'll pay more attention to contract language from now on, lol.

 

[fivetwos]

Yeah, I'm totally with ya. Never seen this before on an NFL contract either. Like you mentioned in your post, could almost be seen as virtual guarantees(for lack of better words) as both the signing bonus and actual follow on playing years are "Almost seemingly" guaranteed unless quick and decisive roster decisions are made 18 months in advance of the coming year.

Not quite sure how common knowledge this is to most Cowboys fans as well.

Guess the fine print on contracts gets mis reported more often than is believed.

Good job by Flamma and you, I'll pay more attention to contract language from now on, lol.

Haha yes you do that!!

The large problem is 2021 is already guaranteed, but they need to cut him in March of 2021 in order for 2022 to not be guaranteed. So, how would that ever fly? So the first four years were guaranteed money.

Just wow.

They didnt get any kind of a break on salary, and the team got absolutely hosed on this structure.

I truly wonder what the holdup was all along during negotiations, because something even a little less than this should have been acceptable to Elliotts side.

The only thing that could change it would be Elliott getting himself suspended again. Funny how we dont see him grabbing boobs on balconies any longer.

As far as the overall, I don't like the guy personally for what he has pulled in the past (fair or not), but I dont trust him at all that football is first....that's my problem w the guy.

He can show up out of shape and there isnt a thing the team can do about it. He is collecting three years more year salary pretty much no matter what.

 

[75boyz]

Haha yes you do that!!

The large problem is 2021 is already guaranteed, but they need to cut him in March of 2021 in order for 2022 to not be guaranteed. So, how would that ever fly? So the first four years were guaranteed money.

Just wow.

They didnt get any kind of a break on salary, and the team got absolutely hosed on this structure.

I truly wonder what the holdup was all along during negotiations, because something even a little less than this should have been acceptable to Elliotts side.

The only thing that could change it would be Elliott getting himself suspended again. Funny how we dont see him grabbing boobs on balconies any longer.

As far as the overall, I don't like the guy personally for what he has pulled in the past (fair or not), but I dont trust him at all that football is first....that's my problem w the guy.

He can show up out of shape and there isnt a thing the team can do about it. He is collecting three years more year salary pretty much no matter what.

As with much of my fanhood towards all sports players nowadays I try to separate the talent from the personality.

By many public reports Aaron Rodgers is an a-hole but I absolutely love to watch him throw especially when he's got the hot hand.

The same can be said of my watching Steph Curry shoot the three ball. Although by most accounts Steph's personality is an okay one as compared to Rodgers.

I think Zeke is immature personally but I love his talent as a running back. So as with the others I mentioned, I just try to keep the personal and players sides separate.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Yep. That is correct. Dallas is the only team to overpay a super star player or even overpay flat out bust. Ever...in the history of the NFL.

Ya learn something new everyday!

It is an unforced error paying a RB. It is an unforced error drafting a rb top 5.

This is checkers not chess.

 

[LatinMind]

Underused?! You got a supporter of his 3 posts above complaining of the coaches wearing him out. He couldn’t even handle the workload he was given. He carried the ball 3 less times than the RB with the most carries. He would never have won the rushing titles if he wasn’t over used and then people would complain he’s still the best but wasn’t used enough.

The excuses for this guy are endless.

in 9 games he had less than 20 carries, and in in 4 of those games he had less than 15. and in 5 of them 9 games he had 16 or fewer. Yes that under using him.

Not to mention they ran him in shotgun alot of the time. And rarely used him in the redzone. These arent excuses, this is just making you aware of how bad the coaching and playcalling in 2009 were. And even then he had 1300+ rushing yrds with 12 TDs. Which still damn good in any situation, just makes it even better considering how bad the coaching was in 2019

Seems like youre trying to discredit this team by any means necessary.

Seems like alot of people just like you want to criticize the coaching until it comes to Dak, Elliot, Amari, Lawrence, Jaylon and any other player that recently got paid.

 

[kumizi]

Thread starter isn’t stupid at all

 

[fivetwos]

As with much of my fanhood towards all sports players nowadays I try to separate the talent from the personality.

By many public reports Aaron Rodgers is an a-hole but I absolutely love to watch him throw especially when he's got the hot hand.

The same can be said of my watching Steph Curry shoot the three ball. Although by most accounts Steph's personality is an okay one as compared to Rodgers.

I think Zeke is immature personally but I love his talent as a running back. So as with the others I mentioned, I just try to keep the personal and players sides separate.

I'm just worried about potentially losing guys like Gallup and LVE because we are stuck paying a declining RB a ton of money.

People can point to yards all they want, but Elliott simply isnt dynamic any longer the way I see it. When Pollard comes in the game he looks much faster.

Now, we know Elliott wasnt in shape the entire season last year, and we can blame that on the holdout, plus the coaching last year has to give pretty much any player the benefit of the doubt...but history definitely shows RBs on top of the league at one point, then completely done not so long afterward.

They should be able to find a way to retain whoever they want salary wise, but theres no getting around at least two seasons of Elliott underperforming that deal, one more than I had hoped. Oh well.

Yet another reason to never draft a RB in the first round....if they are any good at all they will demand to be paid early, and you don't even get the benefit of the full rookie deal.

 

[dallasdave]

Does any pro player truly give two sheezes about their team's fans' feelings about their personal monetary proprietary interests?
I've never heard of such a conflagration.

And they shouldn't. Fans will remain fans.

Corso the wise one

 

[dallasdave]

With age and gravity: Yes.

That's why they make so many bras

 

[dallasdave]

He played out his entire contract? Excuse me, but didn't he have 2 years left on it before going to Cabo? I don't hate Zeke at all -- just what he did.

He took the money and ran

 

[dallasdave]

You have this ... HORSE SENSE!

Watched a lot of Mr ED

 

[Bullflop]

He took the money and ran

Yep, true -- after holding out in Cabo and foregoing TC in the process!

 

[aria]

in 9 games he had less than 20 carries, and in in 4 of those games he had less than 15. and in 5 of them 9 games he had 16 or fewer. Yes that under using him.

Not to mention they ran him in shotgun alot of the time. And rarely used him in the redzone. These arent excuses, this is just making you aware of how bad the coaching and playcalling in 2009 were. And even then he had 1300+ rushing yrds with 12 TDs. Which still damn good in any situation, just makes it even better considering how bad the coaching was in 2019

Seems like youre trying to discredit this team by any means necessary.

Seems like alot of people just like you want to criticize the coaching until it comes to Dak, Elliot, Amari, Lawrence, Jaylon and any other player that recently got paid.

Have you seen me complain about Dak? Did you see me complain about Dlaw getting his contract or did I support him? Have you seen me say one word about Coop getting his contract? Seems like a lot of people like you like to make accusations with nothing to back it up.

Maybe we rarely used zeke in the red zone because he wasn’t all that? I’ve already posted stats showing how lackluster he really is in short yardage situations, especially the red zone, but people like you don’t even look at those stats or you refuse to acknowledge them. You complain about him not getting the ball enough when he can barely handle the workload he’s given. People say we rely too much on him and we’re too predictable but you want to see him get the ball more, lol.

Have you even acknowledged how good our O line has been since zeke’s rookie year or are you one of those who think the stats lie? Zeke isn’t even top 10 in most categories other than total yards and carries which has been the case with every RB to win the rushing title in the past 10 years minus twice. Taking into consideration what he’s had to work with, what he’s done isn’t overly impressive and several RB’s in the league would have had similar results, if not better, if they played under the same circumstances and it could have been done with a lower draft pick and a lot less money.

It’s easy to blame everything on coaching to cover up for some of these over rated players. There were several games this year that the coaches put the players in a position to win but they dropped the ball, literally and figuratively. You sound like the typical fan who is always crowning the Cowboys next years SB champs on paper but in reality there are 31 other teams in the league who also have talented rosters. Keep making excuses though, 20+ years of mediocrity and you’re still blaming coaches.

 

[fivetwos]

He took the money and ran

He took the money and ate.

Strike that. Reverse it...

 

[75boyz]

I'm just worried about potentially losing guys like Gallup and LVE because we are stuck paying a declining RB a ton of money.

People can point to yards all they want, but Elliott simply isnt dynamic any longer the way I see it. When Pollard comes in the game he looks much faster.

Now, we know Elliott wasnt in shape the entire season last year, and we can blame that on the holdout, plus the coaching last year has to give pretty much any player the benefit of the doubt...but history definitely shows RBs on top of the league at one point, then completely done not so long afterward.

They should be able to find a way to retain whoever they want salary wise, but theres no getting around at least two seasons of Elliott underperforming that deal, one more than I had hoped. Oh well.

Yet another reason to never draft a RB in the first round....if they are any good at all they will demand to be paid early, and you don't even get the benefit of the full rookie deal.

Although a big fan of "in shape and focused Zeke" I cannot argue any of your points here.
Last year's first Philly game was the last I've seen of the dominant version of Zeke that if he could mantain on a week to week basis would enable the offense to return to smash mouth style run game dominance.

At this point, as limited as Dak is when Zeke faces defenses designed to stop him, I really can't disagree with most, if any of your points.

But you'll never convince me that if Dak could better take advantage of stacked boxes that the offense would not look very different.

Defensive Coordinators focus on Zeke. They play their hand consistently in the philosophy of" let Prescott beat us".

He can't.

If he could, Zeke would more closely resemble that 2016 version of himself.

Most of your post I still agree with though.

Go Cowboys.

 

[fivetwos]

Although a big fan of "in shape and focused Zeke" I cannot argue any of your points here.
Last year's first Philly game was the last I've seen of the dominant version of Zeke that if he could mantain on a week to week basis would enable the offense to return to smash mouth style run game dominance.

At this point, as limited as Dak is when Zeke faces defenses designed to stop him, I really can't disagree with most, if any of your points.

But you'll never convince me that if Dak could better take advantage of stacked boxes that the offense would not look very different.

Defensive Coordinators focus on Zeke. They play their hand consistently in the philosophy of" let Prescott beat us".

He can't.

If he could, Zeke would more closely resemble that 2016 version of himself.

Most of your post I still agree with though.

Go Cowboys.

Of course I root my behind off for Elliott every week no matter what. I just find his behavior as selfish up until about now.

The case could be made that other than maybe Barry Sanders, any RB is as good as the holes the line opens.

One factor no one wants to point out, probably out of well deserved respect, is that Frederick wasnt so good last year. He got beat quite a bit vs the run.

The Garrett predictability factor counts as well, so maybe Elliott can bounce back...by "bounce back" I mean be the dynamic player and difference maker he once was, not good overall fantasy stats and 40 yard performances in big games.

I just dont trust the guy to be that committed to anything other than partying.

 

[75boyz]

Of course I root my behind off for Elliott every week no matter what. I just find his behavior as selfish up until about now.

The case could be made that other than maybe Barry Sanders, any RB is as good as the holes the line opens.

One factor no one wants to point out, probably out of well deserved respect, is that Frederick wasnt so good last year. He got beat quite a bit vs the run.

The Garrett predictability factor counts as well, so maybe Elliott can bounce back...by "bounce back" I mean be the dynamic player and difference maker he once was, not good overall fantasy stats and 40 yard performances in big games.

I just dont trust the guy to be that committed to anything other than partying.

Totally bro. All of it. Appreciate the civil, respectful discussion.
Go Cowboys.