Former NFL running back O.J. Simpson is happy Dallas Cowboys signed Ezekiel Elliott to a six-year, $90 million contract. However, Simpson believes Elliott and other top NFL running backs should be making more money. Simpson went to Twitter to react to the Elliott signing and thinks Elliott’s contract is an example of running backs having a long way to go in terms of getting the money they deserve.
“Ezekiel’s contract is the biggest of all time. But I still think the position is grossly underpaid,” Simpson said. Wide receivers are getting three or four million than what he just signed for and do you realize he caught 77 passes last year.”
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Simpson went on to mention running backs such as Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley being top receivers and running backs and they aren’t getting the same type of money as a guy like Odell Beckham Jr., who is one of the top wide receivers in the league.
“Catching those passes and still rushing for 1,000 yards? Come on, guys. These guys should be the second-highest paid players on the football field,” Simpson said.
With the $90 million of new money, Elliott also receivers $50 million guaranteed, which is a record for NFL running backs. Also, Elliott could have an average salary of around $13-15 million depending on the final numbers.
Even if Elliott’s base salary is $15 million, that’s still less than Beckham who has a base salary of $16,750,000 according to Spotrac. So while it’s not by a big margin, the top wide receivers are earning more money than the top running backs despite the top running backs putting in more work in terms of production on the field.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys got the deal done and Elliott will be ready to go on Sunday when the team faces the New York Giants in the season opener. Team owner Jerry Jones was recently on CNBC to talk about the contract and he “revealed” how much the contract made an impact on his wallet.
“I just turned my pockets inside out, it means I’m $100 million lighter as of this morning, Jones said jokingly. “Zeke has been arguably our best player, I’m not trying to be unfair to anyone else. But he’s an incremental part to our success. We’re glad to have him booked in. We’re glad to have in on the team.”
Simpson has a point when it comes to running backs being undervalued. But it looks like Elliott and the Cowboys are happy with the new contract.
