POLL The Zeke Elliot Fiasco

[dtgold88]

Have you seen his posts over the last month? Your question is way too difficult for him to understand.

That being said, while I get your point and agree with the "concept" for this year, I think you are wrong in 2020. In 2020 Zeke will likely have the highest W-2 reported salary of any RB. He will be paid his $13M option bonus and also a salary of $6.8M. His cash payment in year 2020 is expected to be $19.8M which I believe is tops in the league

IMO Zeke is the highest paid RB in the league (for now and not by much) no matter how you frame it. At some point we have to just simplify things a little, no?

He definitely has the top contract for now. But cannot really go year by year because, sure, he'll be top in 2020, but likely he wont even be top 5 the following year.

That said...thinking he and JJ are both fine with the deal.

 

[jarntt]

He definitely has the top contract for now. But cannot really go year by year because, sure, he'll be top in 2020, but likely he wont even be top 5 the following year.

That said...thinking he and JJ are both fine with the deal.

Zeke, JJ and @jarntt are all fine with the deal and that's all that matters

 

[dtgold88]

Zeke, JJ and @jarntt are all fine with the deal and that's all that matters

Took him 4 in the draft so add dt to your list.

Full load this week?

 

[jarntt]

Took him 4 in the draft so add dt to your list.

Full load this week?

Tough call on full load. I think they want to showcase Pollard a little so he gets about 5 touches and unless it's a close game I suspect Zeke rotates a little bit (maybe Morris if active plays a couple of series) because being in shape and Football shape are two different things. Still plenty of touches to start him though IMO and if I had him I wouldn't even consider sitting him unless some news comes out in the next couple of days that he isn't ready.

 

[PhillyGreen]

You sure Jerry caved?

I see it as a 4 year $50M contract if the Cowboys pull out after 4 years. That's $12.5M per year if true. That's a horrible deal for Zeke. Great that it would be fully guaranteed no doubt, but 4 years at $12M per???

There is no question that Jerry Jones caved. The Cowboys were all over the place with negotiations and made it public. First they said before the offseason that the price for Zeke starts at Gurley money and goes from there. Then there were reports they wanted to pay him Leveon Bell money. Then they said they did not want to reset the RB market.

Zeke told the Cowboys in January he would not play without a new deal. He wanted to be the highest paid back in the NFL.

In the end Zeke got a new deal and he is the highest paid RB in the NFL. He got a guaranteed $50 mil and he did not take a "team discount"...So yes.....Jerry caved.

I could care less about his cap hit. That is irrelevant. I have always maintained the Cowboys had the cap space to get it done. NFL contracts these days are about the guaranteed money and not so much about the average per year.

 

[PhillyGreen]

Took him 4 in the draft so add dt to your list.

Full load this week?

That would be dangerous. Zeke miss all of training camp. Hard to really tell what kind of shape he will be in.

The first couple weeks of the season need to be played smart. I think it is in the period where Zeke could be hit by the injury bug because he is not all the way in game shape.

 

[jarntt]

There is no question that Jerry Jones caved. The Cowboys were all over the place with negotiations and made it public. First they said before the offseason that the price for Zeke starts at Gurley money and goes from there. Then there were reports they wanted to pay him Leveon Bell money. Then they said they did not want to reset the RB market.

Zeke told the Cowboys in January he would not play without a new deal. He wanted to be the highest paid back in the NFL.

In the end Zeke got a new deal and he is the highest paid RB in the NFL. He got a guaranteed $50 mil and he did not take a "team discount"...So yes.....Jerry caved.

I could care less about his cap hit. That is irrelevant. I have always maintained the Cowboys had the cap space to get it done. NFL contracts these days are about the guaranteed money and not so much about the average per year.

He got a 4 year contract worth $12.5M per year. Jerry probably did back flips when he heard that was all they had to give him and still have him for week 1...backflips I tell ya...

 

[Pure Steel]

He got a 4 year contract worth $12.5M per year. Jerry probably did back flips when he heard that was all they had to give him and still have him for week 1...backflips I tell ya...

With a tumbler of scotch in hand....

 

[PhillyGreen]

He got a 4 year contract worth $12.5M per year. Jerry probably did back flips when he heard that was all they had to give him and still have him for week 1...backflips I tell ya...

It was a good deal for the Cowboys. Not disputing that. I think they tend to run a circus over there by needing all the attention. For the most part the Cowboys have done a very good job at managing the cap. They learned from their past mistakes. That does not change the fact that the Jerry did not cave.

Under the ownership of Jerry Jones the Cowboys have given only 2 running backs second contracts. Emmitt Smith and Marion Barber. The Cowboys have a history of running their backs into the ground and letting them go. My understanding is that they did offer Demarco Murray a deal but it was a low deal (4 years, $16 mil) before the 2014 season. When the season ended and he led the league in rushing he was offered a 4 year $24 mil contract with $12 mil guaranteed where the Eagles offered a $42 mil contract. Flashback: The full story of how DeMarco Murray became an Eagle and the fallout from it for the Cowboys

For Zeke it was about both money and security. I say Jerry caved because Zeke is guaranteed $50 mil. If he was forced to finish his deal he was guaranteed only $12.95 mil. Next years franchise tag for RB is projected to be around $12.735 mil. So Zeke would play 2 full years at the cost of $200k more of next years tag price. That is pretty low for the best RB in the NFL if you ask me.

My saying Jones caved has nothing to do with the cap hit and how they managed to get the deal to cap friendly. Jones caved because Zeke said he would not play without a new deal. and it is obvious he meant it. He also said he wanted to be the highest paid RB in the NFL and it was obvious he meant it because he turned down a deal that would make him 2nd highest paid. Zeke in the end got $50 mil guaranteed. Yes part of the guarantees is this years and next years salary. However he got $38 mil more in guarantees and additional security and his deal eclipsed Gurleys. Gurley's guarantees also included the last 2 years of his rookie contract. No different than Zekes.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

I think this is a great deal for the Cowboys.
the realistic part of this contract is through 2024. The way I look at it. The final 2 years is just to bump up the average per year (ego).
from his signing to the end of 2024 the Cowboys will pay Zeke (one of the best & complete backs in the league) an average of 11.8 million per year. How anyone can look at that as not a win for the Cowboys is beyond me.
That gives the Cowboys Zeke for his 1st nine years of his career. (contracted for his 1st 11)

If Zeke does something stupid & gets in trouble before 2021 or 2022 the cowboys could get rid of him & that money wouldnt be guaranteed at that point. So the 50 mil. guaranteed is only if he keeps his shit together. Another win for the Cowboys. Only way the Cowboys can get hurt by this contract is if there is a career ending injury. But that would hurt any team with a star player signed long term.

Its a win for Zeke. Gets his well earned guaranteed money (if he keeps his shit together) & the Cowboys get their workhorse for a very good deal (once you look into the details) long term.

I am actually very happy with this deal.

 

[jarntt]

It was a good deal for the Cowboys. Not disputing that. I think they tend to run a circus over there by needing all the attention. For the most part the Cowboys have done a very good job at managing the cap. They learned from their past mistakes. That does not change the fact that the Jerry did not cave.

Under the ownership of Jerry Jones the Cowboys have given only 2 running backs second contracts. Emmitt Smith and Marion Barber. The Cowboys have a history of running their backs into the ground and letting them go. My understanding is that they did offer Demarco Murray a deal but it was a low deal (4 years, $16 mil) before the 2014 season. When the season ended and he led the league in rushing he was offered a 4 year $24 mil contract with $12 mil guaranteed where the Eagles offered a $42 mil contract. Flashback: The full story of how DeMarco Murray became an Eagle and the fallout from it for the Cowboys

For Zeke it was about both money and security. I say Jerry caved because Zeke is guaranteed $50 mil. If he was forced to finish his deal he was guaranteed only $12.95 mil. Next years franchise tag for RB is projected to be around $12.735 mil. So Zeke would play 2 full years at the cost of $200k more of next years tag price. That is pretty low for the best RB in the NFL if you ask me.

My saying Jones caved has nothing to do with the cap hit and how they managed to get the deal to cap friendly. Jones caved because Zeke said he would not play without a new deal. and it is obvious he meant it. He also said he wanted to be the highest paid RB in the NFL and it was obvious he meant it because he turned down a deal that would make him 2nd highest paid. Zeke in the end got $50 mil guaranteed. Yes part of the guarantees is this years and next years salary. However he got $38 mil more in guarantees and additional security and his deal eclipsed Gurleys. Gurley's guarantees also included the last 2 years of his rookie contract. No different than Zekes.

Yeah...none of that is really very convincing. Saying part of the reason is because Zeke said he wouldn't play without a deal is weak. first because we don't know if he would or wouldn't have, but most importantly because Jerry probably wanted to get a deal done more than Zeke. Jerry has already rounded third and knows there aren't that many Sundays left for him. He never stated he wouldn't do a deal now or that he didn't want to. He stated all along he thought they would get a deal done by week 1 and they did.

Extensions: they've only had one RB better than Zeke and they gave him another contract so again, not seeing it and you can disagree on the amount offered but they did offer Murray a contract. I'm just not following the logic here.

The Jones all along were not willing to give out a crazy contract and they didn't. As a matter of fact they got the better of this deal. A year later than Gurleys and the total value went from $49M to $50M or up 2%. What did QB contracts go up in the last year? How about OL or WR? It just looks like a long winded way to again say you don't like the Cowboys and not much else.

 

[PhillyGreen]

Yeah...none of that is really very convincing. Saying part of the reason is because Zeke said he wouldn't play without a deal is weak. first because we don't know if he would or wouldn't have, but most importantly because Jerry probably wanted to get a deal done more than Zeke. Jerry has already rounded third and knows there aren't that many Sundays left for him. He never stated he wouldn't do a deal now or that he didn't want to. He stated all along he thought they would get a deal done by week 1 and they did.

Extensions: they've only had one RB better than Zeke and they gave him another contract so again, not seeing it and you can disagree on the amount offered but they did offer Murray a contract. I'm just not following the logic here.

The Jones all along were not willing to give out a crazy contract and they didn't. As a matter of fact they got the better of this deal. A year later than Gurleys and the total value went from $49M to $50M or up 2%. What did QB contracts go up in the last year? How about OL or WR? It just looks like a long winded way to again say you don't like the Cowboys and not much else.

I will make it simple.

This particular thread had a poll and I chose "Jerry Jones Caves, Signs Zeke to an extension.

Yesterday, Zeke signed an extension.

Jerry Jones caved.

 

[fordman84]

I will make it simple.

This particular thread had a poll and I chose "Jerry Jones Caves, Signs Zeke to an extension.

Yesterday, Zeke signed an extension.

Jerry Jones caved.

Congrats, here's a cookie. That cookie and your favorite team will get you another 2nd place East finish. Enjoy.

 

[jarntt]

I will make it simple.

This particular thread had a poll and I chose "Jerry Jones Caves, Signs Zeke to an extension.

Yesterday, Zeke signed an extension.

Jerry Jones caved.

Yesterday, Zeke signed an extension - true

Jerry Jones cave. - not proven at all

 

[jarntt]

One biased Cowboy bloggers opinion, but some food for thought nonetheless:


Contract breakdown: Three reasons why the Ezekiel Elliott deal works out great for the Dallas Cowboys


Reason #1 - The cap hit for the first two years hasn’t changed
If Elliott just rode out his contract, the Cowboys would be getting him for the cost of the last year of his rookie deal, plus his fifth-year option. Those numbers equated to $7.9 M and $9.1 M respectively, totaling $17 million over the next two seasons.

If we take a look at the cap hit for the first two years of his new deal, those numbers have essentially stayed the same, with only a $200,000 increase to the cap between those two years.

Reason #2 The Cowboys have an easy out after four years
We all know Zeke’s great, and now he’s getting paid like one of those special running backs. But what if he’s not so special a few years down the road? A player like Adrian Peterson had the resiliency to where he didn’t drop below 200 carries until he was 29 years old, but those types of players are anomalies these days. There is no guarantee that Elliott is also one of those exceptions to the rule that isn’t impacted by that running back wall we keep hearing about.

Looking at how the contract is structured, the Cowboys have themselves a built-in escape hatch.

If for some reason, Elliott shows sign of wear after the 2022 season, the Cowboys can release him while only absorbing a $6.7 dead money hit. That means the team gets Zeke in his prime for a cost of four-years, $50M, equating to just $12.5 M annually. That is a real good bargain for a player with Elliott’s talent.

Reason #3 - He’ll be a bargain later, too
If 2023 gets here and Elliott is clearing a path to Canton, the team won’t be exercising that potential out available to them. With most of his bonus money already paid out at this point of his contract, it would only cost the Cowboys another $52.9 M to keep him on their roster for four more years.

When you add the rest of his bonus money to that total, that equates to a four year average of $14.9 million from 2023 to 2026. That’s more than the $12.5 M he’s costing the team the first four years, but keep in mind that the salary cap keeps increasing about 6% per year. If Elliott is worth keeping around into his thirties, not only is that going to mean he’ll be an eventual gold-jacket wearer, but his percentage of the cap being used will drop him into the “reasonably priced” range.

The team basically enters into a pay-as-you-go situation with Elliott as they can assess things year by year to determine if it still makes sense to use their cap fund for his services. Looking at the entire contract:

It’s really a thing of beauty when you look at it closely. Examining the details of Elliott’s contract serves as a reminder of what a financial wizard Stephen Jones really is. It was very well structured deal, and honestly it was worth the wait

 

[Stomp]

Not sure about that. The 2022 salary guarantees at the start of the 2021 year. So if they cut him after 2021 his dead money should be $23.2M. That only happens if something bad happens on or off the field. As I said above it's a 4 year $50M contract with a team option to extend each of the next 4 years. Fantastic deal for the Cowboys.

The cap hit from his signing bonus and option bonus are spread out thats why his cap hit is so low for the first couple of seasons. If he is no longer on the roster all that dead cap becomes due immediately.

 

[jarntt]

The cap hit from his signing bonus and option bonus are spread out thats why his cap hit is so low for the first couple of seasons. If he is no longer on the roster all that dead cap becomes due immediately.

I'm not sure if you quoted the wrong person. We are talking about the 2022 salary which guarantees the first week of the 2021 season not the signing bonus or the option bonus paid in 2020. We all know how that works

 

[Stomp]

I'm not sure if you quoted the wrong person. We are talking about the 2022 salary which guarantees the first week of the 2021 season not the signing bonus or the option bonus paid in 2020. We all know how that works

No you were asking about the dead cap created if he was cut after year 3 as FM suggested i was explaining where it comes from it has nothing to do with his 21 or 22 salaries

Cutting him after year 3 would create 10.8 million in dead money

Not sure about that. The 2022 salary guarantees at the start of the 2021 year. So if they cut him after 2021 his dead money should be $23.2M. That only happens if something bad happens on or off the field. As I said above it's a 4 year $50M contract with a team option to extend each of the next 4 years. Fantastic deal for the Cowboys.

 

[jarntt]

No you were asking about the dead cap created if he was cut after year 3 as FM suggested i was explaining where it comes from it has nothing to do with his 21 or 22 salaries

I wasn't asking, I was stating what it is. My numbers that I posted are correct unless spotrac and OTC are wrong.

Your $10.8M is wrong after year 3, it's $23.2M. You need to add the 2022 salary because while it doesn't show as dead money right now it will as soon as we pass the 5th day of the 2021 season.

 

[Stomp]

I wasn't asking, I was stating what it is. My numbers that I posted are correct unless spotrac and OTC are wrong.

Your $10.8M is wrong after year 3, it's $23.2M. You need to add the 2022 salary because while it doesn't show as dead money right now it will as soon as we pass the 5th day of the 2021 season.

No the salary does not guaranty until that date the team and only if he's still on the roster. The team would never wait for it to guaranty then cut him that wouldn't make any sense. Once again i'm what i'm trying to explain is the dead money is from his signing bonus and an option bonus that has only partially counted towards the Cowboys cap.