The saga continues with the Dallas Cowboys and running back Ezekiel Elliott, trying to work out an agreement in order to have the star rejoin the club prior to the season opener on September 8. Whether it be total money in a deal, highest average per season, or most guaranteed money, Elliott wants to be compensated as one of the league’s best backs. It just isn’t known publicly which, if not all of these are the most important.
The latest news has Dallas recently making an overture to try and bridge the financial gap. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, the Cowboys have made a new offer that in some ways would get Elliott above the deal inked by Le’Veon Bell when he signed with the New York Jets this offseason, but still under the deal inked by Todd Gurley with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018.
Elliott is currently working out in Cabo while the team prepares for Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Bell signed a four year, $52.5 million contract, which included an $8 million signing bonus and annual roster bonuses which vary between $3 million and $4.5 million over the life of the deal. His average salary of $13.125 million came in just above Arizona’s David Johnson ($13 million).
Spotrac reports Bell received $27 million guaranteed at signing, which is actually more than what Todd Gurley received at his signing, $21.9 million, however Gurley’s deal also had a guarantee of another $12.55 million that kicked in on the third day of the 2019 league year; an effective guarantee. He has another similar guarantee for the third day of the 2020 league year for another $10.5 million.
That last $23.1 million was setup as injury guarantees at the beginning of the deal.
That’s the reason why reports speaking to making a player top 5, don’t mean much weight without true specifics. Bell could’ve been advertised as the highest-paid running back in the league based on total guarantees at the start of the deal, but that wasn’t the case in two other categories.
Those differences should be kept in mind in the reports coming out about Elliott, quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
