Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has broken his silence about his contract situation with the team. Elliott was recently interviewed by Maxim Magazine and he said he wants to be a member of the Cowboys until he retires from the NFL.
“I love playing for the Dallas Cowboys, I love the organization, my teammates. I do want to be a Cowboy for the rest of my life and hopefully that’s a possibility,” Elliott said. “But even Emmitt Smith, the greatest running back ever, ended up going to play a couple of years for another organization. So it’s just the nature of the game, but I want to be a Dallas Cowboy for as long as I can.”
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Elliott has not been practicing with the Cowboys as he’s been holding out for a new contract for a month. Currently, the Ohio State alum has two years remaining on his current deal and he’s scheduled to make $3.8 million this season and more than $9 million on his fifth-year option in 2020. But with Elliott emerging as one of the top running backs in the league he wants to get paid like it.
And the belief is a deal will be done very soon. Last week ESPN reported the Cowboys will get a deal done with Elliott before the season begins which is the first week in September.
“This is a win for Ezekiel Elliott,” ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington said. “If he gets the big pay-bump this year and doesn’t have to hold out next year or even the year after that, this is a win for Ezekiel Elliott. He will be back by Week One.”
Elliott believes the fact that Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley recently signed a four-year, $60 contract helps his cause to get a favorable contract.
“Until the very recent deal with Todd Gurley [four years, $60 million], I think there was an undervalue of the running back,” claims Elliott. “But with guys like Gurley getting drafted so high, then me, and now guys like Saquon [Barkley] getting drafted in the first round, I think we’ve done a great job of bringing back the value of the position, showing the importance of the running back.”
Elliott was selected by the Cowboys No. 4 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. In his three seasons in Dallas, Elliott has rushed for 4,048 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has led the NFL in rushing yards in 2016 and 2018 and he has led the NFL in rush yards per carry the last three seasons.
