Cowboys want to pay Zeke like Le'Veon Bell - But you already knew that, right?

Cowboys want to pay Zeke like Le'Veon Bell - But you already knew that, right?

FRISCO - It was two weeks ago when Dallas Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told us on the record that his team had issued to Ezekiel Elliott a new contract that was aligned with Le'Veon Bell's deal. So ... why is this a "new'' story?

The Cowboys once called Todd Gurley’s pricy Rams' deal the starting point of what they would pay Elliott -- meaning, $14 mil per year. They later changed their minds when the Le'Veon Bell contract with the Jets came in at about $13 mil yer year.

Jones told us -- again, on the record, no "sources,'' no "conspiracies'' -- that the Bell contract with the Jets "re-set the market.'' .. and that Dallas had no intention of paying Elliott something in excess of Gurley's deal. Again, he was clear about this, and on-the-record about this, two weeks ago.

And now along comes ESPN claiming a "new'' offer that would make Elliott one of the top two highest-paid running backs in the league.

Problem 1) : Elliott is looking for an average annual salary that is more than Gurley. That is not a "scoop''; it's an established fact.

Problem 2) The ESPN story that mentions a Bell-level offer is not a "scoop''; it is an established fact, with no need for "sources'' as Jones told us this ON THE RECORD.

The Zeke holdout continues as Dallas continues to be quite willing to make him a "top-two-paid'' running back in NFL history (in terms of APY). It's a damn shame that Bristol is pretending this is a "sourced scoop'' when in fact it's a known fact.

It is also the Cowboys' oft-stated position that, as Stephen Jones said this week, "Sometimes our players have to realize that their representatives don’t always have what’s in the best interest” of the players in mind because agents are looking for the biggest deal. Again, this is no "scoop.'' Smart Cowboys fans are aware of most of the dynamics involved in the Zeke/Cowboys relationship and therefore don't fall victim to the "re-reporting'' of old stories.