NFL Rumors: Ezekiel Elliott Has Nothing To Gain, More To Lose With Prolonged Holdout

Wide Receiving Ezekiel Elliott continues to hold out against the Dallas Cowboys, making sure he first gets a new contract before buckling down to business. And while this is nothing new in the NFL, sitting out the coming season would gain the 24-year-old nothing moving forward.

Elliott said to ESPN that he will not play this NFL season without a new contract, a scenario that calls to mind the case of Le'Veon Bell. However, their cases are far different. Bell had that franchise tag in the air. The Pittsburgh Steeler would be stuck with the rules tied up to that and this is something that Elliott does not exactly have.

In the case of Elliott, his contract runs through 2020. If he skips a full season, his contract tolls by a year, pushing his $3.853 million salary from 2019 to 2020 and likewise nudging his $9.099 million salary for 2020 to 2021, NBC Sports reported.

Complicated as it may sound, the best solution for Elliott would be to show up before Week 10 and enter 2020 with a salary of roughly $9 million. But if one is to factor in the plan of team owner Jerry Jones, the whole issue is not expected to become that complicated.

Worth noting as well is that Elliott is only one-third of the problem. Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper are two other players due for contract extensions and Jones said that all will be given deals in line with the top-five contracts of their respective positions. Much of this was discussed in a previous post.

Right now, it looks like Elliott has nothing to gain but plenty to lose. This is because he could end up paying multiple penalties for his holdout. That includes a $40,000 fine per day aside from further sanctions that the Cowboys could enforce. He could also be fined $226,000 if he fails to show up for the preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Zeke could save himself the trouble by just showing up or at least opening communication lines with Cowboys management on his contract.

The Dallas Cowboys need to settle these contract disputes so they can focus on the coming NFL season. Money matters are hindering the team from moving forward although something could finally be resolved in the coming days.