Dirk Nowitzki in Cowboys Hat Reportedly Joining Media at Airport to Welcome Ezekiel Elliott Back to Dallas

If there was ever any question about why many famous athletes don’t go out in public all that often, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott provided a very definitive answer on Tuesday afternoon. News broke earlier in the day that he was leaving Cabo to head back to Dallas, and a fan posted a photo on Twitter that showed Zeke boarding the airplane.

Well, the local Dallas news teams saw that the star running back was heading back to Texas and headed down to the airport in order to catch him arriving. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News posted a short video on social media that showed multiple camera crews camped outside of customs just waiting for Zeke to appear. The hope was that his official arrival back in Dallas would mark the end of his holdout, and it created so much of a stir that Dirk Nowitzki was even reported to be on hand for the event.

Obviously, having Zeke back in the United States doesn’t automatically mean that his holdout has ended, but it does provide hope for a quick resolution. The Cowboys have a goal of getting him back in the building for Wednesday’s practice so that the game plan for week one can be installed. Taking care of the contract extension on Tuesday is a critical factor.

With the airplane arriving earlier than expected, it’s very possible that Elliott will be signing his new deal this evening. If the nitty-gritty details of the extension have been figured out, it means that the contract could be announced as early as 5:30 p.m. CST. Of course, this all hinges on whether or not all of the critical aspects of the extension have been discussed.

For example, Elliott wants to earn more money than Los Angeles Rams star Todd Gurley, which puts his contract extension in the $60-90 million range, depending on guarantees and the length of the deal. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on Tuesday morning that the deal was very close, but there were some final points that had to be hashed out. Are the guarantees part of this final stretch of negotiations?

Either way, it does serve as a positive sign for the Cowboys faithful that Zeke is back in the United States and in Texas. Granted, he may not enjoy walking up and seeing a pack of news crews waiting for him, but that comes with the territory of playing running back for America’s Team.