If I'm Jerry Jones....

[ShotgunDawg]

I do nothing with Zeke's contract.

- He gets in trouble often.
- Apparently has no loyalty to people that stand up for him
- He plays an extremely replaceable position
- He's not even a free agent. Has 2 years 12 mil left on his rookie deal. He's just asking for a raise essentially

If I'm Jerry, I make Zeke come to me. No chance I'm giving him top RB pay. He isn't trustworthy enough.

To me, the key to that team's future is keeping the OL, Dak, & Amari together.

[msstate7]

It'd hurt this year. Zeke is their best offensive player

I'm a saints fan, so please don't bring zeke to the dome week 3

ETA... I'm against paying RBs gurley money

[ShotgunDawg]

It'd hurt this year. Zeke is their best offensive player

I'm a saints fan, so please don't bring zeke to the dome week 3

ETA... I'm against paying RBs gurley money

Zeke is their best offensive player but not their most important for the long term.

I just leave it alone. No shot I'm giving him a bad contact that holds the franchise back. His makeup & character isn't worth it.

[ShotgunDawg]

Also, Zeke has two years left on his contract. What's he going to do? Sit out for two years? That would destroy his career.

He'll be back if Dallas just waits him out

[msstate7]

Zeke is their best offensive player but not their most important for the long term.

I just leave it alone. No shot I'm giving him a bad contact that holds the franchise back. His makeup & character isn't worth it.

I wouldn't give him what he wants. If you don't though, you pretty much concede the division.

[ShotgunDawg]

I wouldn't give him what he wants. If you don't though, you pretty much concede the division.

Maybe.

I will say though that the "holding out" is the worst part of the NFL IMO.

I'm not totally sure of the CBA specifics as to why it happens in football more than any other sport, but I wish they'd fix it. I'd like them to at least pretend that this is a team sport

[HoopsDawg]

Maybe.

I will say though that the "holding out" is the worst part of the NFL IMO.

I'm not totally sure of the CBA specifics as to why it happens in football more than any other sport, but I wish they'd fix it. I'd like them to at least pretend that this is a team sport

Pretty simple, it happens more in football b/c contracts aren't guaranteed like they are in MLB and NBA.

[basedog]

Another major reason I don't follow or watch much Professional Sports. $$$ is sickening now days to watch.

Guaranteed contracts are about like congress folks getting lifetime benefits, shouldn't happen.

[Tbonewannabe]

I wouldn't give him what he wants. If you don't though, you pretty much concede the division.

I think with Zeke they win the East, without him then they are in more of a dog fight with Philly. It would still be doable and it would depend on if Pollard is as good in real games as advertised.

[Johnson85]

I wouldn't give him what he wants. If you don't though, you pretty much concede the division.

Unless he thinks they are a superbowl team, might as well concede the division. Not worth taking on a contract that will hurt for years if you don't think you've got a good chance at a superbowl championship. And if he takes the short pain now, it will make people think twice about holding out in the future.

[Tbonewannabe]

Another major reason I don't follow or watch much Professional Sports. $$$ is sickening now days to watch.

Guaranteed contracts are about like congress folks getting lifetime benefits, shouldn't happen.

Depends on how you view the contracts. You have the actual product (the players) making people Billions of dollars and one injury can stop their entire career. I think you would see less of it if there was a clause that they received a majority of their contract if they have an injury.

[Tbonewannabe]

Rumors floating around that Zeke has a contract to be the 2nd highest RB behind Gurley. Of course, guaranteed money and number of years haven't been released so you don't know how good the actual contract is. Bell should be a cautionary tale for RBs looking to hold out. At the end of the day, he got about what the Steelers were willing to pay but lost a year off his career.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Unless he thinks they are a superbowl team, might as well concede the division. Not worth taking on a contract that will hurt for years if you don't think you've got a good chance at a superbowl championship. And if he takes the short pain now, it will make people think twice about holding out in the future.

He thinks they're a super bowl contender with Zeke because they are. Without Zeke they're not. Let Dallas lose these 1st 2 games to division rivals & Jerry is going to back up the Brinks truck ala Emmitt Smith. They win those 1st 2 & Zeke May sit a while.

[msstate7]

I think with Zeke they win the East, without him then they are in more of a dog fight with Philly. It would still be doable and it would depend on if Pollard is as good in real games as advertised.

As of the moment, eagles are 5/8 favorites in east with cowboys at 8/5. That's with zeke figured in... without zeke, eagles are a decided favorite

[FISHDAWG]

you make a deal and you honor it ... Jerry's holding all the cards

[Maroonthirteen]

Rumors floating around that Zeke has a contract to be the 2nd highest RB behind Gurley. Of course, guaranteed money and number of years haven't been released so you don't know how good the actual contract is. Bell should be a cautionary tale for RBs looking to hold out. At the end of the day, he got about what the Steelers were willing to pay but lost a year off his career.

Yeah, Jerry has meet him in the middle with the money but it isn?t guaranteed money. I don?t know how the contracts work in relation to injury vs Off the field suspension etc.

But without the guarantee.... all zeke has, is Jerry?s word that he will honor the contract. Which Jerry will as long as Zeke shows and stays out of trouble. All Jerry has is Zeke word that he will show up and stay out of trouble. Which Zeke has NOT proven he can do.

No way, if I?m Jerry that I would sign this dude to a lucrative long term contract that could really bite into your salary cap without any guarantees that he is there and out of trouble for every season.

Jerry made him a fair offer. If Zeke won?t take it, good bye.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Maybe.

I will say though that the "holding out" is the worst part of the NFL IMO.

I'm not totally sure of the CBA specifics as to why it happens in football more than any other sport, but I wish they'd fix it. I'd like them to at least pretend that this is a team sport

Well its because their contracts are not guaranteed, I would imagine.

[ShotgunDawg]

you make a deal and you honor it ... Jerry's holding all the cards

Not in the NFL because the owners don't honor the player's contracts when they cut them with years left on the contract.

I don't have a problem with players looking out for themselves with the current NFL CBA, but I also have no issue when owners calling their bluff by saying they aren't worth what they are asking for.

At the end of the day, however, players get game checks by playing, while the owners are making more money than almost anyone on the planet & can own the team for 50+ years.

The pressure is FAAARR more on the player to play than it is on the owner to agree to to a bad contract

[sleepy dawg]

Another major reason I don't follow or watch much Professional Sports. $$$ is sickening now days to watch.

Guaranteed contracts are about like congress folks getting lifetime benefits, shouldn't happen.

Imagine the mental gymnastics you have to do to be "sickened" by a group of people being paid their market value to the point you don't watch or follow them, but will watch, and probably love, basically the exact same sport with nearly the same value where the employees are not paid market value (work for gifts rather than money) yet everyone but the employees are getting rich off them.

[sleepy dawg]

I wouldn't pay zeke just b/c I don't think RB is that valuable of a position. When you have a good OL, the difference between a great RB and a good one will be minimal. That same difference at other positions can be huge.

[msstate7]

I wouldn't pay zeke just b/c I don't think RB is that valuable of a position. When you have a good OL, the difference between a great RB and a good one will be minimal. That same difference at other positions can be huge.

One thing to consider in this is if the cowboys consider dak their guy, do you trust a rookie RB to pick up the blitzes that will be coming more and more with no zeke out there?

[RiverCityDawg]

Rumors floating around that Zeke has a contract to be the 2nd highest RB behind Gurley. Of course, guaranteed money and number of years haven't been released so you don't know how good the actual contract is. Bell should be a cautionary tale for RBs looking to hold out. At the end of the day, he got about what the Steelers were willing to pay but lost a year off his career.

Bell got about twice the amount of guaranteed money the Steelers were offering. If he had played and stayed healthy it would have been better he play than what he did because he gave up the year's salary, but knowing he avoided injury and got more guaranteed it's hard to say he didn't come out on the better end of the deal even though he didn't get quite as much in total as he had hoped. I don't think running backs will see that as a cautionary tale. What they see is it was a good thing Gurley got his money before his bad knee acted up again, and they better do that too.

[Cooterpoot]

Zeke is a shitty person, but he?s a good football player. At some point, one side of that will win out, and it won?t be the good football player side. RBs are easily replaced in the NFL.

[99jc]

Bell got about twice the amount of guaranteed money the Steelers were offering. If he had played and stayed healthy it would have been better he play than what he did because he gave up the year's salary, but knowing he avoided injury and got more guaranteed it's hard to say he didn't come out on the better end of the deal even though he didn't get quite as much in total as he had hoped. I don't think running backs will see that as a cautionary tale. What they see is it was a good thing Gurley got his money before his bad knee acted up again, and they better do that too.

Zeke is a 17ing loser I hate the Cowpokes but love Dak. When Zeke leaves pro football he will be broke and/or in prison before its over.

[RiverCityDawg]

Zeke is a 17ing loser I hate the Cowpokes but love Dak. When Zeke leaves pro football he will be broke and/or in prison before its over.

Probably so. As a Cowboys fan, I'm on the fence about paying him big dollars. Zeke is special, but we've seen so many teams plug and play at running back and I think Pollard is going to be really really good. Have to pay Cooper, Dak, Jones and before you know it you'll be paying Vander Esch and Gallup.

[Cowbell]

It'd hurt this year. Zeke is their best offensive player

I'm a saints fan, so please don't bring zeke to the dome week 3

ETA... I'm against paying RBs gurley money

No he is not. Without zeke they can win - they can even make the playoffs. Without Dak they have a losing record. This is the worst take out there and so many people have it. Best at his position - sure. But not best player.

[Tbonewannabe]

Bell got about twice the amount of guaranteed money the Steelers were offering. If he had played and stayed healthy it would have been better he play than what he did because he gave up the year's salary, but knowing he avoided injury and got more guaranteed it's hard to say he didn't come out on the better end of the deal even though he didn't get quite as much in total as he had hoped. I don't think running backs will see that as a cautionary tale. What they see is it was a good thing Gurley got his money before his bad knee acted up again, and they better do that too.

I thought that the Steelers had offered as much guaranteed but I just read an article that only $17 Mil his first year was guaranteed in the deal from the Steelers. I guess he got a better deal as far as guaranteed money. He gave up some of the total dollars but got a lot less risk.

[ShotgunDawg]

Jerry is 100% correct here.

1167465836447227904

[Maroonthirteen]

Never mind.

[msstate7]

In zeke's defense, read this report on ex-nfl players... pay attention to the positions most affected

https://www.bing.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com%2fmetro%2f2019%2f08%2f30%2fnfl-players-six-times-more-likely-than-general-public-report-cognitive-problems-study-finds%2f6BKMul9OC019g9eAudBQTP%2fstory.html%3foutp utType%3damp

[dawgs]

Maybe.

I will say though that the "holding out" is the worst part of the NFL IMO.

I'm not totally sure of the CBA specifics as to why it happens in football more than any other sport, but I wish they'd fix it. I'd like them to at least pretend that this is a team sport

Holding out happens because players get ****ed by the current CBA. And with the short shelf life for RBs especially, they are often considered used up by the time they can actually collect their worth on the market. Allow them to collect their talent worth sooner and you'll see hold outs decrease. But sure, blame the players who often come from little to no financial means for not being grateful to the billionaire for paying them an artificially depressed value to destroy their bodies so the billionaire owners can reap the benefits of another massive TV deal.

[dawgs]

I thought that the Steelers had offered as much guaranteed but I just read an article that only $17 Mil his first year was guaranteed in the deal from the Steelers. I guess he got a better deal as far as guaranteed money. He gave up some of the total dollars but got a lot less risk.

Earl Thomas held out last year, reported for the regular season, broke his leg a month into the season, and then has that used against him in free agency. That's why bell sat out. That's why Gordon and Elliott might sit out. Football players have a small window to make some money before their bodies deteriorate, and far be it from me to give someone shit for not acting what's in their best interest to preserve their health to maximize their value. None of these owners are gonna go broke paying football players, they are just depressing values to maximize profits while not passing the salary savings into the consumer (anyone looked into buying NFL tix lately?).

[Tbonewannabe]

Earl Thomas held out last year, reported for the regular season, broke his leg a month into the season, and then has that used against him in free agency. That's why bell sat out. That's why Gordon and Elliott might sit out. Football players have a small window to make some money before their bodies deteriorate, and far be it from me to give someone shit for not acting what's in their best interest to preserve their health to maximize their value. None of these owners are gonna go broke paying football players, they are just depressing values to maximize profits while not passing the salary savings into the consumer (anyone looked into buying NFL tix lately?).

I agree. These players are putting their health on the line every time out there.

[BB30]

Jerry has to determine if and when their window for winning the Superbowl is going to open. If it is now( next two years) I think you have to do something to get Zeke on the field immediately. If you feel like your closer to 3 years out from being a serious contender and not just a playoff team you can potentially get away with letting him be an idiot and not play.

I'd personally like to see them go grab another really solid WR and a tick above average RB or two if they can find a good value out there.

[Maroonthirteen]

I agree. These players are putting their health on the line every time out there.

Uncle Sam is a billionaire. He sends troops to foreign lands to face death for a few thousand a month.

These football players make millions. Zeke is making 3.9 million this year. 9 million next. Jerry just offered him to be the next highest paid rb in the nfl. If Zeke feels his health is more important than that contract. So be it. He didn’t take a oath. He doesn’t have to go to war. He can simple make a decision, get out from
Under the oppressive owner and get another job that is less risky.