Bertrand: Elliott was basically free, a Christmas Tree Shop bargain
New details have emerged surrounding Ezekiel Elliott’s contract with the New England Patriots.
Inside of the one-year deal, the running back will earn a base salary of $1.55 million and a $600,000 signing bonus. Not to mention, the contract has a plethora of performance-based incentives. The deal is much more Patriots-friendly than initially reported.
On Thursday’s Zolak & Bertrand program, the guys weigh the pros and cons of adding Ezekiel Elliott to this year’s Patriots squad.
Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.
Jan 8, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) stands on the field during warmups prior to the Cowboys’ game against the Washington Commanders at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Bertrand: Ezekiel Elliott’s contract is worth far less than originally reported by Adam Schefter. This guy’s a bargain. I like the signing more today than yesterday, which is strange.
Zolak: It’s a win for the Patriots, man. If this works out, it’s a complete win for them. It’s low risk. It’s quite a humbling contract for him as an individual, considering where he’s come from and where he’s been.
Bertrand: I’m not annoyed anymore that they didn’t divert what I thought was 4 million in real money.
It’s weird because I’m always yelling about the Patriots not spending more money, so I don’t fully love the bargain basement finds. Right?
I don’t love them going to the Christmas Tree Shop for their running back, right? I don’t love that.
Zolak: Part of the narrative, this week, was, “Why wouldn’t you just $2 million more to go get Dalvin Cook?” That’s not the case, though.
Bertrand: That’s not the case! I’m not mad about not spending more for Dalvin Cook, not taking the money set for Zeke Elliott, or not taking a Hopkins deal. But here we are again with the Patriots looking for Filene’s Basement pieces for their team.
Zolak: This is like when you find a size 11.5 and 12 shoe and have to make them work together.
Ezekiel Elliott of the New England Patriots during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers. (Marc Cappello/98.5 The Sports Hub)
Bertrand: The guy’s a bargain! So, it would be crazy not to sign Zeke Elliott.
They didn’t outbid anybody for Zeke Elliott. They didn’t have to pay him to beat other teams. This guy is basically free. It doesn’t cost anything to do this.
So, yeah, it makes all the sense in the world. Of course, you would add Zeke Elliott over anything you had in the stable, so to speak. Why wouldn’t you do this? Yeah. I like the signing more now. The contract isn’t much money. They gave him nothing.
Zolak: I mean, you do have to add to the room. There will be issues with the room at some point this year. Injury-wise, that always happens. Have you seen that offensive line block? Somebody is going to get rolled up. Someone will get a high load and will have to miss a couple of games.
So, you bring in a veteran back, and if you hit on this sucker, it’s a big win. Contract-wise, as you said, he’ll have to hit every incentive to get paid. He’s never going to play 70 percent of the snaps.
Bertrand: I’m not sure he’ll hit the first incentive: 975 yards from scrimmage. I’m not convinced that will happen.
Zolak: I don’t think he will either because he’s so role-specific here. There’ll probably be games where he won’t touch the ball. I don’t know. That’s just the setup here.
James White has talked about this. He didn’t have a problem with it.
July 26, 2023; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans newly acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) runs through drills during the first day of training camp at the practice facility St. Thomas Sports Park. Credit: Denny Simmons – USA Today Sports Network via The Tennessean
Bertrand: Here’s what they could have done. They could have signed Hopkins and Elliott. They could have done a million other things this offseason and still had Zeke Elliott.
This signing would have felt better if we felt like they didn’t have other holes to plug in on offense. They should’ve addressed the receiver and tackle positions—this is all part of a bigger-picture thing where they didn’t do enough offensively.
Zolak: It’s a headscratcher if you’re a Patriots fan.
Bertrand: I like that they added a cheap veteran who will add a little something and is better than what they had. But the whole offseason was them not doing enough offensively. And, not spending enough offensively and not committing enough resources to really improve this offense.
Segment Audio
Ezekiel Elliott contract shows how good he needs to be to max out his money
We now have the full picture of the Ezekiel Elliott contract with the New England Patriots.
It’s unsurprising that Elliott’s one-year deal with New England, initially reported as being worth “up to” $6 million, is far from that number in terms of guaranteed money. But new reports break the contract down – and illustrate just how great of a season Elliott is going to need to have in order to max out his money.
Guaranteed Money
Ezekiel Elliott of the New England Patriots during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers. (Marc Cappello/98.5 The Sports Hub)
While there’s no official report of how much of Elliott’s money is guaranteed, there’s a ballpark idea. According to Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, Elliott gets a base salary of $1.55 million and a signing bonus of $600,000, for a total of $2.15 million. It’s possible that is the full guaranteed money, right there.
Florio also reported that the Elliott contract includes $850,000 in per-game roster bonuses ($50,000 per game). Elliott’s history suggests that, barring a serious injury, he will collect most of those bonuses. He has played at least 15 games every season since 2018.
Salary Cap
Ezekiel Elliott of the New England Patriots during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers. (Marc Cappello/98.5 The Sports Hub)
Elliott’s salary and bonuses add up to $3 million. According to Pats salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, that will be Elliott’s cap number for 2023 if he’s active for all 17 games. Until then, the cap number is $2.9 million. So, his number is about the same as Rhamondre Stevenson, Kevin Harris, and Pierre Strong Jr. combined ($3.06 million).
Another wrinkle in the contract related to injuries and availability: per Florio, Elliott’s salary goes from $1.55 million to $1 million if he suffers a season-ending injury before Week 1. But, he and the team can simply hope he makes it through the next two weeks of joint practices and preseason action.
Incentives
Ezekiel Elliott of the New England Patriots during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers. (Marc Cappello/98.5 The Sports Hub)
Here is where the Elliott contract really gets into the nitty-gritty, the deep weeds. His deal is essentially half-salary & bonuses, half-incentives. He can earn up to another $3 million based on yards from scrimmage and playing time, according to Florio’s report.
“Scrimmage” yards is an interesting distinction, implying that Elliott is expected to get his share of passing down snaps. That’s no surprise, as Elliott has 305 career receptions and is considered an elite pass protector.
According to Florio, Elliott can earn $300,000 each (up to $1.5M) by hitting the following marks…
— 975 scrimmage yards
— 1,100 scrimmage yards
— 1,225 scrimmage yards
— 1,350 scrimmage yards
— 1,475 scrimmage yards
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 24: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts after a first down during the first quarter in the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on November 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Because Elliott totaled 968 yards from scrimmage in 2022, all of these incentives can be categorized as “Not Likely To Be Earned.” That means they don’t count against the 2023 cap, and if Elliott actually hits any of them, they count against the cap in 2024.
The 975-yard benchmark seems reasonably attainable, especially since Elliott should see more than last year’s 23 targets in the passing game. He might be hard-pressed to surpass last year’s 231 rushing attempts, though, barring an injury to Stevenson.
Jan 16, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) before the wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
Elliott also has up to $1.5 million to earn in playing time incentives, based on offensive snaps. If he plays at least 50 percent of snaps, he gets $300,000. He can earn another $300k for hitting 55, 60, 65, and 70 percent.
Since Elliott still played 55 percent of offensive snaps for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, despite a slightly reduced role, 50 percent of snaps for the Pats in 2023 isn’t out of the realm of possibility. It’s also possible that the first two thresholds ($600K total) could count as “Likely To Be Earned” incentives, since Elliott hit those marks last season, but that’s unclear.
Oct 17, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) runs with ball against the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
The playing time incentives are where Elliott’s pass protection will really come into play. He may need to be undeniable in that area in order to siphon a lot of passing-down snaps from Stevenson, who showed improvement in that area in 2022.
It’ll be interesting to see how Elliott is used and whether he looks rejuvenated after the proverbial Change of Scenery™. And, as all incentive-laden contracts go, if Elliott starts hitting those, it’s going very well for him and likely for the Patriots offense.
