3 worst contracts on the Dallas Cowboys’ 2022 roster
By Randy Gurzi
1. Ezekiel Elliott, RB
It’s hard to find a contract in the entire NFL worse than the one the Cowboys gave to Ezekiel Elliott. He held out in 2019 despite having two years left on his current deal and even with Dak Prescott and Cooper having less time on their deals, the Jones family gave in and allowed Zeke to jump the line.
What’s worse is they didn’t even just give him a new deal, but instead, they added six years and $90 million onto the contract he already had. That means he’s under contract until 2027. It didn’t take nearly that long for the rest of the world to point out how bad this contract was.
If the Cowboys hadn't extended Ezekiel Elliott, he'd be in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. There is zero chance he'd get a contract as big shopping himself to all 32 teams in free agency in 2021 as the one the Cowboys gave him bidding against themselves in 2019.
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) November 26, 2020
Outside of Dallas, the rest of the NFL gets it. Nick Chubb was given a four-year deal, with an out for the Cleveland Browns after two seasons. The same happened with Derrick Henry. But for Dallas, they added six years to a deal with two years on it — meaning they gave Elliott eight years to play a position that is usually too demanding to play effectively more than four-to-six seasons total.
That terrible move cost them a shot at keeping CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Cedrick Wilson together. Instead, they have just Lamb and Gallup (coming off a torn ACL) in a pass-first league.
To prove they also don’t get it, they have gone on record and blamed their quarterback and his contract for their inability to retain players, while calling their running back the “straw that stirs the drink.” Again… in a pass-happy NFL.
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