One man should never count another man’s pockets. That’s a golden rule, to stay out of someone else’s financial business. If a team rewards a player with a sizable contract, the impact on the team’s salary cap is certainly a worthy conversation, but begrudging a man for reaching a higher level of financial security is never the move. When Ezekiel Elliott received a six-year, $90 million extension in September 2019 it was the richest contract for a running back in NFL history.
Elliott’s value to Dallas at the time went well beyond his record-setting ways of being the first Cowboys RB to lead the league in rushing average for three straight years (all in his first three years), and one of only 13 players who has averaged 95 yards a game or better 3 or more times. That list is Elliott, Derrick Henry, Priest Holmes and 10 Hall of Famers. But now, in the fourth year of that extension and with teammate Tony Pollard set to hit free agency, it’s time to talk about what’s best for the club moving forward.