The Landry Hat
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3 contracts holding the Dallas Cowboys back right now

By Randy Gurzi

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 24: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys greets DeMarcus Lawrence #90 of the Dallas Cowboys on the as they take the field for warmups at AT&T Stadium on December 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 24: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys greets DeMarcus Lawrence #90 of the Dallas Cowboys on the as they take the field for warmups at AT&T Stadium on December 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – JANUARY 16: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys carries the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

2. Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back

By now, it’s been covered ad nauseam. We all know Ezekiel Elliott should have never been given the insane contract Dallas gave him.

Despite having two years left on his rookie deal, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys front office caved in on a hold-out from Elliott. Rather than holding firm and proving the team is bigger than any individual, they gave a running back a six-year extension worth $90 million.

Of course, everyone who follows the NFL knows running backs are lucky to have six productive campaigns but in Dallas, they decided to add that many years to a player who had already been in the NFL for three years — and it really wound up being an eight-year deal thanks to the two remainings.

Now heading into the 2023 offseason, Elliott is scheduled to have a cap number of $16.72 million. The good news is that they can actually get out of his deal since they’ve paid out the entire $50 million in guarantees.

Because of this, he can be let go as a post-June 1 release and would count for $5.8 million in dead money while freeing up $10.9 million.

Having said that, the move still isn’t exactly a huge win. Making him a post-June 1 cut means they couldn’t spend that money until then — so it’s not as if they can go after any key free agents. That’s the definition of a contract that holds a team back.

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