22. Ezekiel Elliott

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Position: RB

Experience: 3 Years

In his first NFL season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott set the league ablaze. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and named First-Team All-Pro off the strength of his league-leading 1,631 rushing yards in 15 games. Elliott’s combination of speed and strength was maximized by the quality of the Cowboys offensive line. The end result was a bull in a china shop style of smashmouth football that helped catapult to the top of the NFC with a 13-3 record. The running back restored Dallas back to its once glorious standing in the league in a short time.

However, with all the great things that Elliott was doing on the field, he kept running into trouble with his actions off the field. In his second season, Elliott served a six-game suspension after being accused of domestic violence against his former girlfriend. He tried to fight against the suspensions with appeals and court junctions, but in the end, he served the suspension for the last six weeks of the Cowboys season. Though he hasn’t been suspended again since he’s managed to get caught up in some type of scandal or confrontation that lands him in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

So far he’s managed to stay off the field this year of his own accord. Elliott is still under terms of his rookie contract which gives the Cowboys a guaranteed two-years of control over him (fifth-year option and franchise tag) but the running back wants to get paid like the top-tier back that he is. Over the years, the running back position has become a place where teams tend not to invest big money financially. Yet, Elliott has been so good for Dallas that he is in a bind. If he plays out his rookie deal it is unlikely he will ever capitalize on his skills monetarily. He’s been a hold out for all of Dallas’ training camp and has made it known that he doesn’t intend to play a single down without a new contract.

According to Forbes, the Cowboys are the sports franchise with the highest value in 2019 ($5 billion). It would stand to rest that Jerry Jones has enough to give Elliott a contract that would make him the highest-paid player at his position—currently, that resides with Todd Gurley (four-year, $57 million). When Dallas opted to select Elliott fourth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, the team seemingly married themselves with him for the long haul. Other teams have found their star backs in later rounds (see: Alvin Kamara) which cheapens the initial contract of the player.

The money is on the two sides figuring something out. As great as Dallas has been since 2016, along with the improvements made by Dak Prescott, and the additions to their defense, this is still a team that will go as far as Elliott carries them. Without him they are barely a playoff team, with him they are talented enough to end their 23-year Super Bowl drought. For this team, Elliott is worth every penny he’s asking for.