Cowboys, Elliott agree on $90 million deal to end holdout; Rams extend QB Goff
FRISCO, TEXAS >> Ezekiel Elliott has a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys just in time for the regular season.
The star running back and the club agreed Wednesday on a $90 million, six-year contract extension that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid player at his position and end a holdout that lasted the entire preseason.
The breakthrough was finalized before dawn on the morning of the team’s first full workout before Sunday’s opener at home against the New York Giants.
Elliott will get $50 million guaranteed. The $15 million-per-year average on the extension surpasses the $14.4 million Todd Gurley got from the Los Angeles Rams last summer. Gurley’s guarantee was $45 million.
The 41-day stalemate between Dallas and the two-time NFL rushing champion came with the Cowboys holding high expectations coming off their first playoff win with Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott. They have won two NFC East titles in three seasons together.
Prescott and receiver Amari Cooper are also seeking long-term contracts in the final year of their rookie deals. But getting an agreement with Elliott settles the most important issue as the Cowboys try to get past the divisional round for the first time since winning the last of the franchise’s five Super Bowls during the 1995 season.
Elliott held out with two years left on his rookie contract, at $3.9 million this season and $9.1 million in 2020. The fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft wanted to be the highestpaid back after getting those two rushing titles in only three years.
Now the 24-year-old is, with a contract that totals $103 million over the next eight seasons.
“I’m $100 million lighter as of this morning,” owner Jerry Jones said on CNBC in New York, where he and his son, executive vice president Stephen Jones, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. “Zeke has been arguably our best player. We’re glad to get him booked in.”
Even when he was suspended for six games over domestic violence allegations in 2017, Elliott still had the best per-game rushing average in the league.
But the off-field issues were part of the backdrop as the impasse dragged on, although Jerry Jones, also the team’s general manager, said more than once he didn’t consider Elliott’s issues a factor as it related to a new contract.
Jones jokingly said “Zeke who?” in response to a question from a reporter after a second straight solid preseason showing from rookie fourth-round pick Tony Pollard in Hawaii.
A few days later, though, Jones sternly said he had earned the right to joke about Elliott after the 2016 All-Pro’s representatives took offense to the remark. The owner strongly supported Elliott during a court fight over the suspension.
As the regular season drew closer, Jones took an increasingly hardline stance publicly, finally calling out Elliott during his radio show last week for not honoring his existing contract.
But Elliott’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, told reporters the sides were close to a deal after Elliott landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Tuesday. Elliott spent almost the entire holdout in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
RAMS, QB GOFF AGREE TO 4-YEAR EXTENSION >> Jared Goff has been a prolific NFL quarterback ever since Sean McVay joined him with the Los Angeles Rams. The quarterback and his coach will get the chance to chase more Super Bowl appearances together now that Goff’s long-term future is finally secure.
Goff agreed to a fouryear contract extension with the Rams on Tuesday night, keeping the franchise quarterback with Los Angeles through the 2024 season.
The team didn’t disclose the terms of its deal with Goff, who led the Rams to the Super Bowl last season. NFL Network reported the deal is worth $134 million, with a league-record guarantee of $110 million.
Goff is beginning his fourth year with the Rams, who made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. After a rocky start as a rookie during the Rams’ relocation season, Goff has become a sturdy two-time Pro Bowl selection under McVay over the past two years.
Goff has passed for 8,492 yards with 60 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while going 24-7 in 31 regular-season games as McVay’s starter. He has led the Rams to back-to-back NFC West titles and their first Super Bowl appearance in 17 years, becoming the first No. 1 pick to quarterback his team to a Super Bowl within his first three seasons.
He also led the Rams to two playoff victories last winter, but he struggled along with his teammates in the Super Bowl, going 19 of 38 for 229 yards with one interception in Los Angeles’ 13-3 loss.
Although the Rams flopped against New England, the team’s belief in Goff never wavered. McVay and Rams general manager Les Snead repeatedly vowed to sign Goff to a long-term extension, expressing constant support for the quarterback who has run McVay’s inventive offense during two of the highestscoring seasons in NFL history.
“Jared is somebody we want to be the Rams quarterback for a long time,” Snead said last weekend when asked about the extension talks that had been happening for months. “Jared wants to be a Ram for a long time, we want him to be a Ram for a long time, and we will continuously try to work to make that happen.”