Running back Ezekiel Elliot says he wants to be with the Dallas Cowboys from start to finish. He has nothing but good to say about the organization and his teammates, so he wants his whole NFL career being a Cowboy.
Speaking with Maxim, Elliot finally speaks out while in the middle of his ongoing contract holdout. He reveals his current position and state, what is happening with his contract negotiations, and the direction of his career with the franchise that drafted him.
"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 told Maxim.
Even with this big love for the franchise, he is not closing down doors or setting anything in stone. He knows the nature of the sport can be volatile and can change quickly, like anything in life. He cited Emmitt Smith, who he perceives as the greatest running back ever. According to him, even without concrete plans to do so, Smith did end up playing a couple of years for an organization that did not originally draft him.
"So it's just the nature of the game, but I want to be a Dallas Cowboy for as long as I can," he explained.
If he does not leave Dallas Cowboys or if he does not receive a new deal, Elliot can make a lot of money with Dallas. He is under contract until 2020 but is already set to earn $3.85 million in 2019. In 2020 however, he can take home $9.1 million.
Ed Werder of ESPN tweeted that the Dallas Cowboys offered the player with a contract that can be quite hard to refuse. Once accepted, he can be the second-highest paid running back in the league. The top-earning running back at present is Todd Gurley at the Rams. If Elliot accepts this contract, he can make more than Le Veon Bell of the Jets.
Elliott himself told Maxim that before Gurley was given such a good deal, there was a tendency to downplay the value of running backs. He said that with Gurley being drafted that high as well as him getting such a great offer, the value of the position is just brought back.
Everything is still an offer right now though because Elliott is yet to agree with the deal officially. It is expected that a deal will be reached before the team opens the season on Sept. 8, fighting the Giants. Since joining the league in 2016, Elliott showed his value by leading NFL with 4,048 rushing yards.
