News: Zeke Won't Return without Deal

[ABQCOWBOY]

I'm sure if I really wanted to I could break down your analogy and try to follow along. But frankly now I'm just hungry for pie.

BTW, I don't blame Jerry or the owners, hell they've got a sweet system that works to their advantage. But I don't blame players for using whatever limited means they might have to earn to their maximum potential. I know how the CBA works, and I know how slanted it is in favor of the owners and that will never change in this sport because players collectively have too short of an earning window to waste a season trying to improve their lots. It's quite the racket owners have going.

You say it's a racket, I say it's a negotiated deal by the Union, who was selected by the players to represent them. I don't blame the players or the owners. The deal was negotiated and it's not gonna chance until it's renegotiated. I blame the Union and the Fans, if anybody. If this is a bad deal, then it's a bad deal because the Union elected to go for the money instead of the deal that would have provided players more leverage long term. I mean, if you really look at it, the Union went for the same deal Zeke and his agent went for. They went for the money up front. I blame the fans because they are so short sited as to just yell out to whomever will listen, "Pay The Man"! Well, they get what they deserve because any fool can see that the man has already been paid as much as can be allowed, under the rules of the existing game. That's not the fault of the team. That's a Contract and it's the CBA, two things that teams can't break the terms of.

 

[atlantacowboy]

You say it's a racket, I say it's a negotiated deal by the Union, who was selected by the players to represent them. I don't blame the players or the owners. The deal was negotiated and it's not gonna chance until it's renegotiated. I blame the Union and the Fans, if anybody. If this is a bad deal, then it's a bad deal because the Union elected to go for the money instead of the deal that would have provided players more leverage long term. I mean, if you really look at it, the Union went for the same deal Zeke and his agent went for. They went for the money up front. I blame the fans because they are so short sited as to just yell out to whomever will listen, "Pay The Man"! Well, they get what they deserve because any fool can see that the man has already been paid as much as can be allowed, under the rules of the existing game. That's not the fault of the team. That's a Contract and it's the CBA, two things that teams can't break the terms of.

I don't understand folks who stand with a player against the Dallas Cowboys interests.......as if it matters to them personally how much a player makes.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

You say it's a racket, I say it's a negotiated deal by the Union, who was selected by the players to represent them. I don't blame the players or the owners. The deal was negotiated and it's not gonna chance until it's renegotiated. I blame the Union and the Fans, if anybody. If this is a bad deal, then it's a bad deal because the Union elected to go for the money instead of the deal that would have provided players more leverage long term. I mean, if you really look at it, the Union went for the same deal Zeke and his agent went for. They went for the money up front. I blame the fans because they are so short sited as to just yell out to whomever will listen, "Pay The Man"! Well, they get what they deserve because any fool can see that the man has already been paid as much as can be allowed, under the rules of the existing game. That's not the fault of the team. That's a Contract and it's the CBA, two things that teams can't break the terms of.

It's unequivocally a bad deal for the players, that's not hard to see. It's intellectually lazy to just blame the union and fall back on the CBA and say "That's what you get for wanting the money up front!" Ha! Like the players (individually or as a union) have any other choice. They have such little leverage when it comes to rookie deals and such little leverage in collective bargaining that they are forced to take as much as possible up front because the teams and the league aren't going to magically do right by them in the end if they don't take the money up front.

None of these arguments change that a player has to honor the length of a contract and the team does not - even if the CBA allows such. And as long as that's the case players should hold out if they choose without some pious commentary that they aren't honoring the contract.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

It's unequivocally a bad deal for the players, that's not hard to see. It's intellectually lazy to just blame the union and fall back on the CBA and say "That's what you get for wanting the money up front!" Ha! Like the players (individually or as a union) have any other choice. They have such little leverage when it comes to rookie deals and such little leverage in collective bargaining that they are forced to take as much as possible up front because the teams and the league aren't going to magically do right by them in the end if they don't take the money up front.

None of these arguments change that a player has to honor the length of a contract and the team does not - even if the CBA allows such. And as long as that's the case players should hold out if they choose without some pious commentary that they aren't honoring the contract.

Call it what you want but the facts remain. You can't change the CBA and you can't go against it so you can call it lazy or whatever you like, end of day you gotta live with it, like it or not. All the excuses in the world won't change it. It is what it is.

And for the record, teams and players have options in terms of contracts. Teams have option years and so too can players, if they negotiate them.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

Call it what you want but the facts remain. You can't change the CBA and you can't go against it so you can call it lazy or whatever you like, end of day you gotta live with it, like it or not. All the excuses in the world won't change it. It is what it is.

And for the record, teams and players have options in terms of contracts. Teams have option years and so too can players, if they negotiate them.

Players can go against it, it's called holding out. It's essentially their only recourse.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Players can go against it, it's called holding out. It's essentially their only recourse.

That's the thing. I mean, I don't understand how you don't get this. Players have no recourse, in terms of Rookie Contracts, and that's because the players, themselves wanted it that way. This whole idea of recourse is faulty.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

LOL...... But look at the throw.

~Shakes Head~

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

That's the thing. I mean, I don't understand how you don't get this. Players have no recourse, in terms of Rookie Contracts, and that's because the players, themselves wanted it that way. This whole idea of recourse is faulty.

They wanted them that way or they settled for them because they don't have the leverage to fight that battle?

 

[zrinkill]

This whole idea of recourse is faulty.

And if it works?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

They wanted them that way or they settled for them because they don't have the leverage to fight that battle?

Nope, this was a players thing, this was not an owners thing. The players decided how the Rookies would be compensated, in terms of share of the pie. That's not on ownership.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

And if it works?

Depends on what you call "Works". Zeke, IMO, will get a new contract this season because he won't sit out the entire year but he won't get the record breaking deal he is looking for. I think he could have gotten that if he had been patient but he won't get that right here IMO. So I guess if you are counting any deal as "works", then I would simply say "Yay" and move on with my day.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

LOL...... But look at the throw.

~Shakes Head~

Ya used to them by now those Dak inaccurate specials baby.....

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

Nope, this was a players thing, this was not an owners thing. The players decided how the Rookies would be compensated, in terms of share of the pie. That's not on ownership.

The 4-year term with a 5th-year option was created by the players?

 

[zrinkill]

Depends on what you call "Works". Zeke, IMO, will get a new contract this season because he won't sit out the entire year but he won't get the record breaking deal he is looking for. I think he could have gotten that if he had been patient but he won't get that right here IMO. So I guess if you are counting any deal as "works", then I would simply say "Yay" and move on with my day.

How do you know he wants a record breaking deal ...... Maybe he wants years ..... Only people leaking this info is the Jones boys and I wouldn't trust them to tell me what color the sky is

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The 4-year term with a 5th-year option was created by the players?

The 5th year option only applies to 1st round picks, and is not considered part of the Rookie Salary Cap and it is different depending on where you were drafted. If you are a top 10 pick, then the amount you get in a 5th year season is based on an average of the top salaries at your position so Zeke's option year salary of 9 mil plus is based on the top salaries at RB. It's fully guaranteed, once you are on the team in the first game. I mean, I don't know what there is to complain about there. So yes, the 4 year rookie contract is based on the amount of the pie the players wanted to give to the rookies and the 5th year was negotiated between players and management and it reflects the very top of the wage scale for any given player. I mean, I don't know how it could be any more fair then that.

 

[Tussinman]

The 5th year option only applies to 1st round picks, and is not considered part of the Rookie Salary Cap and it is different depending on where you were drafted. If you are a top 10 pick, then the amount you get in a 5th year season is based on an average of the top salaries at your position so Zeke's option year salary of 9 mil plus is based on the top salaries at RB. It's fully guaranteed, once you are on the team in the first game. I mean, I don't know what there is to complain about there. So yes, the 4 year rookie contract is based on the amount of the pie the players wanted to give to the rookies and the 5th year was negotiated between players and management and it reflects the very top of the wage scale for any given player. I mean, I don't know how it could be any more fair then that.

To add to this the 5th year option is automatically guaranteed for injury the start of the 4th calendar year and you had said it's fully guaranteed game 1 it's actually better than that (it's fully guaranteed the first day of 5th calendar year which is like 6 months before ever playing that 1st game).

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

The 5th year option only applies to 1st round picks, and is not considered part of the Rookie Salary Cap and it is different depending on where you were drafted. If you are a top 10 pick, then the amount you get in a 5th year season is based on an average of the top salaries at your position so Zeke's option year salary of 9 mil plus is based on the top salaries at RB. It's fully guaranteed, once you are on the team in the first game. I mean, I don't know what there is to complain about there. So yes, the 4 year rookie contract is based on the amount of the pie the players wanted to give to the rookies and the 5th year was negotiated between players and management and it reflects the very top of the wage scale for any given player. I mean, I don't know how it could be any more fair then that.

My point about the 4-year contract with 5th year option for 1st round picks is if you're a running back (relevant to our situation) then you get locked down at the "rookie" rate for much, if not all, of your prime. The second contract only exists for the very best and even then you have the franchise tag conundrum. It brings more understanding to Zeke's situation. If he just plays out the rookie deal and then gets franchised once or twice then he doesn't make the same amount as he would if he can sign a long-term deal after year 3. And let's be honest, his price tag isn't going up if he waits to negotiate after year 4 like it might if he were a QB or a WR or almost any other position. He's already at the top of the market from a production perspective. And with Gurley and Bell signed and Kamara and McCaffrey a year behind him, he won't get any more outside help from the market for at least the next year, maybe two. By then it will be harder for him to justify that type of deal because he has more wear and tear. And there's always the risk of injury.

He has more to lose than gain financially by playing on his rookie deal in year 4. Especially since he's only due $3.8 million this year.

It may not matter, he may either get the deal done (in which case his tactic worked) or play anyway once the season starts, which I kind of expect but have no inside info on. But even if he sits out, he's in a much different situation than Bell was.

 

[zrinkill]

don't understand folks who stand with Jerry Jones against the Dallas Cowboys being successful on the field.......as if it matters how much money Jones makes compared too 25 years of futility .......... Makes me how anyone can still trust him.

 

[khiladi]

Dak Prescott and Dallas is 4-0 in the last 4 games without Zeke. The offense has scored 20, 30, 36, and 38 point in those games. Dak has averaged around 270 yards and 2 tds in those games.

You guys and your Dak-spinning are hilarious. I never said they didn’t win, what I said was the following:

That’s cute and all, but we are talking about the ZEKE impact, meaning when ZEKE wasn’t playing. Those 45 games include Zeke also playing with Smith. When Dak played without Zeke, but played with Smith, meaning THOSE THREE games, Dak was garbage.

As far as without Zeke, it’s a pretty convieng cut-off point, and you ignored the THREE games where they got blown out by DECENT to GOOD teams, meaning the Falcons, Chargers and Eagles, where the offense scored a whopping 7, 6 and 9 points respectively and Check-down Charlie’s “clutch” bus driving couldn’t Do anything to Stop the bleeding, where he couldn’t even break 200 yards passing in any of them and two of them he couldn’t even pass for over 130 yards and the Dallas offense committed 8 TOs firing that stretch.

Anybody that watched the games against the Commanders, Giants and Raiders, which were three of the four you mentioned, they were teams in absolute disaster and disarray, out of the play-offs, while Dak played like trash for long stretches and was mediocre and ‘bus drove’ the team to victory. Dallas was 4-0 against clearly INFERIOR teams, while Dak was flat out garbage the majority of those stretches.

Against the Giants for example, the bus-driving of Dak scored 10 points for 3 quarters and Dak netted 150 of his total 300 yards on two passes of about 8 yards total on busted converses in the fourth, where Beasley ran 54 yards on a dump off over the middle and Smith, who ran for 91 yards on a basic slant, both busted coverages. And then Sean Lee gets an INT and returns it to the 9. The Cowboys offense led by Dak was looking like a fish out of water until the Giants, who were already eliminated from the play-offs well before, basically self-imploded. Or against the Commanders with his whopping 102 yards passing and the game was basically won by Alfred Morris, whose 15 of his 27 carries came in the second half and 6 of Rod Smith’s ten, while Dak threw a whopping less than ten passes the whole second half, meaning Dallas ran more than at a 2:1 ratio and Linehan put the games in the hand of his RBs. And with 7 of those meaningless points coming off a defensive TO that put them in scoring position in the red zone. Or against Oakland with his awful 2 INTs and the only reason they won is because Carr fumbled in scoring territory.

The difference between the 0-3 stretch and the 3-0 stretch without Zeke is good teams versus awful teams. Against the awful teams, bus-driving Dak led Cowboys with a solid running game was able to squeeze out some wins, when those teams imploded, and against the good teams, Dak couldn’t do jack squat to effectively win with his arm.