Ezekiel Elliott Willing To Fight Suspension In Court, Jerry Jones Reportedly “Furious”

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports that Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott is willing to take his appeal of the six-game suspension handed down by the NFL on Friday through the court system if he has to.

Robinson adds that this situation could drag out for a long time.

Meanwhile, Adam Schefter reports that Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones is said to be “furious” with NFL decision, which shouldn’t come as a big surprise, given that he was adamant in his public comments regarding the matter that he felt there wasn’t anything to warrant a suspension.

Elliott is currently appealing his suspension and there is a recent precedent for a reduction in the number of games a player is suspended in connection with domestic violence cases. However, it would be surprising to see the entire ban wiped out.

Here’s the full release from the NFL regarding their decision to suspend Elliott: (NFLTR)

Elliott is accused of five incidents of domestic violence that took place over over the course of a six-day period in July 2016.

If Elliott serves the full six-game suspension, he would miss games against Giants, Broncos, Cardinals, Rams, Packers and 49ers.

Joel Corry points out that Elliott’s $8,156,274 of salary guarantees would go away if his suspension is upheld.

Elliott, 21, was taken with the No. 4 overall pick by the Cowboys back in May. He signed four-year contract worth $24,956,342, which includes a signing bonus of $16,350,068.

Elliott stands to make base salaries of $1.58 million (2017), $2.71 million (2018), and $3.85 million (2019) over the remainder of the contract. The agreement also includes a fifth-year option for the team to consider in 2019.

In 2016, Elliott has appeared in 16 games for the Cowboys and rushed for 1,631  yards on 322 carries (5.1 YPC) to go along with 32 receptions for 363  yards receiving and 16 total touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 running back out of 62 qualifying players.