Rowdy
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- Mar 18, 2019
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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was matter of fact Friday when addressing Ezekiel Elliott‘s holdout. He noted several times the running back is under contract, allowing for the Cowboys to assess fines of $40,000 per day for every day of training camp he misses.
Elliott is one of five players around the league who did not report to camp on time.
Elliott isn’t the first Cowboys player to holdout of camp in a contract dispute, and he likely won’t be the last.
“You’ve got holdouts all over the league,” Jones said. “Not having all things tied up in the rest of the world has been the way it has been since I have been old enough to understand.
“This doesn’t flare me. It shouldn’t our fans.”
Jones tried his best not to act disappointed in Elliott’s absence, but he couldn’t hide it when reminded of his unwavering support of Elliott before and after the league suspended the running back for six games in 2017.
Elliott and Jones separately waged battles with the NFL, with Elliott eventually serving his suspension and Jones paying a $2 million de facto fine to the league for legal fees.
“All of that comes to mind. It does come to mind,” Jones said following the team’s opening press conference. “My time with Zeke has been based on just that, supporting him, and I do support him. I think he has a fabulous future here. So maybe I should be sure and say that. As far as what we are working through here, I think the best way to say it is, sometimes we all get stopped on fourth-and-one. It just happens to the best. We just got to keep going here. Line up and go again.”