Ezekiel Elliott Gets Six Game Suspension

The NFL has brought the hammer down on Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys running back is being suspended for six games, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Elliott is expected to appeal the decision and he has three business days to do so. The NFL has since confirmed the ban and NFL.com has obtained a copy of the league’s letter to Elliott detailing the decision.Ezekiel Elliott (vertical)

If the appeal is unsuccessful, Elliott will be out of action through Week 7 since the Cowboys have a Week 6 bye. Elliott therefore would not make his regular season debut until Week 8 against the Redskins on October 29th.

On Friday morning, Schefter cautioned that the personal conduct policy could enable the NFL to suspend Elliott for up to six games. It’s a shocking outcome considering the previous belief that Elliott would only be suspended for one or two games, if suspended at all. All throughout the process, Elliott has maintained his innocence and owner Jerry Jones has insisted that no physical violence took place. The league, apparently, does not agree with that assessment.

I have reviewed everything, and there is absolutely nothing — not one thing — that had anything to do with domestic violence,” Jones said recently.

Meanwhile, NFL investigators determined that Elliott did use physical force against girlfriend Tiffany Thompson. Although there was “conflicting testimonial evidence” with regards to what transpired, the photographs of her injuries left no doubt about whether Elliott struck her, the league says.

If the suspension is upheld, Elliott will lose out on $8.15MM+ in salary guarantees from the 2017 through 2019 seasons. Elliott will also have to repay the Cowboys a portion of his signing bonus, on top of missing out on six game checks. For Elliott, that means giving up nearly $240K per missed game, which comes out to approximately $1.44MM.

View Comments (61)