Jerry Jones is taking a hard-nosed approach to the contract negotiations between Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys, and he seems to make comments every day that could irritate the star running back.
During an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Friday morning, Jones took a swipe at Elliott for not honoring his contract. When asked about signing Zeke long-term, Jones said one of his concerns would be that Elliott could just hold out again next year since “we’re not gonna honor contracts.”
Jerry Jones on @1053thefan talking about Ezekiel Elliott’s contract holdout: “If we do a new contract, what’s to assure us that this time next year or three months later, we won’t be talking about another contract? If we’re not gonna honor contracts?”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 30, 2019
That’s a clever way for Jones to try to put pressure on Elliott by making him look bad, but we all know that would not be the case. Elliott’s holdout has to do with the structure of his rookie contract, which most people would argue is unfair. He’s under contract with the Cowboys for two more years since he was a first-round pick, which gave the team the option of tacking a fifth year onto his deal. He’s arguably the best running back in football, but he is scheduled to make just $3.8 million this season and $9.1 million in 2020. The shelf life of a running back is extremely short, so Elliott is just trying to get a big guaranteed payday while he can.
Jones indicated on Thursday that he does not expect Elliott to be back by Week 1, and he’s done everything he can to make it seem like he is not bothered by the holdout. He could risk alienating Elliott by continuously talking about the situation in public.
