One contract on another team has become the sticking point in the battle between Ezekiel Elliot and the Cowboys

Ron Jenkins/AP

Superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott is still holding out for a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys just days before the start of the 2019 NFL season.
Elliott wants to become the highest-paid running back in the league, and a sticking point in the negotiations might come down to guaranteed money.
Todd Gurley received $45 million in guarantees when signing his extension with the Rams last year, a number that Elliott is eager to top and the Cowboys would likely prefer not to offer.
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With just days to go until the start of the 2019 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys are still working to get superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott to end his holdout and get to training camp.

Elliott, who has been training on his own in Cabo San Lucas as the season approaches, has two years left on his rookie deal, and is hoping to sign a lucrative extension before Week 1 that would see him become one of the highest-paid running backs in the league.

According to a report from Mike Fisher and Jonathon Shipman at Dallas 105.3 The Fan, the Cowboys offered Elliott a contract that would make him the second-highest paid running back in the league, just behind Todd Gurley’s $14 million average annual salary. As sources told The Fan, Elliott is hoping to surpass Gurley in both average annual salary and guaranteed money, with the latter number likely being the source of the Cowboys’ current stalemate.

Michael Ainsworth/AP

Gurley’s extension included $45 million guaranteed, an unprecendented amount for a running back. Elliott has lead the league in rushing in both of the full NFL seasons he’s played thus far in his three years in the league, only failing to do so when he was suspended for the first six games of 2017.

If any rusher in the league has proven himself worth such a sum of guaranteed money, it’s Elliott.

That said, after Gurley’s disappearance in the postseason last year following a mysterious knee injury, the Cowboys might be concerned about locking up so much money at a position where players have such a difficult time staying healthy. Meanwhile, Elliott wants to secure his future while he can, and is in about as strong a negotiating position as a player can be while still on his rookie deal.

Eventually, the two sides will have to find common ground on the guaranteed money to be included in the new contract.

As things stand, the Cowboys have less than two weeks to figure out Elliott’s extension before the start of the season. If the deal doesn’t come together, it’s possible that Elliott decides to take his holdout into Week 1.

"I’m optimistic that we can get Zeke’s deal done," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after the team’s preseason game on Saturday night.

Cowboys fans should hope that Jones’ optimism is well-founded, or it could mean starting the 2019 season with the best running back in football on the sidelines.

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