Ezekiel Elliott's financials have been one of the most widely discussed topics among Dallas Cowboys fans since the front office handed him a humongous contract in 2019.

For the first time in years, the Cowboys could just move on from the running back who appeared to be unstoppable back when he was a rookie making the most of one of the best offensive lines Dallas had seen in a long time.

But Jerry and Stephen Jones appear interested in keeping Zeke. At least, that's what they're telling reporters. Jerry even claimed the same running back who averaged 3.55 yards per attempt since the bye week had not had a drop-off.

But one thing is clear, if they're to keep Elliott, the financials must change. Otherwise, Zeke would count $16.7M against the salary cap. Not to mention, the Cowboys would have to pay him 10.9 million in salary for the upcoming season (a lot of money for someone who hasn't been the team's top RB).

That's why reports have emerged about Elliott being willing to take a pay cut in order to stick around. Recent reports from Ian Rapoport (NFL Network) indicate his agents will try to figure out what his market value is in the league's Scouting Combine next week.

But what could a new deal look like for Ezekiel Elliott? Let's dive in.

What the Cowboys need from a reworked deal with Zeke

First, let's go through Elliott's numbers for 2023 really quickly:

• Salary: $10.9M
• Cap Number: $16.7M
• Guaranteed salary: $0
• Cap savings IF cut: $4.86M

That last number is the most important one of them all for a simple reason: If the Cowboys decide to reach a reworked deal with Zeke, they have to save more than they would by just cutting him.

It's that simple. Any discussion otherwise is a non-starter.

Sure, dead money is always scary. The Cowboys would have over 11 million in dead cap space if they release him. But that's a sunk cost and shouldn't lead to a bias when trying to reach a decision.

The goal, plain and simple, has to be to bring down Zeke's salary to a number closer to $5M and potentially open up a few million more in the cap space than they would through a normal release.

That can be achieved by adding a roster bonus or a signing bonus that spreads out the cap hit over the length of the contract. As part of the deal, Elliott's lowered salary would likely be fully guaranteed.

But even though they could save more in 2023 by reaching a new deal, the Cowboys might be better off moving on from Zeke. Otherwise, you'd still have to worry about his contract every year and his production (and explosiveness) has been on a steady decline for years now.

For more on this topic and the Cowboys, check out my nightly live show A to Z Sports Dallas Primetimebelow!

Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content

Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports