Ezekiel Elliott not looking to cut a deal with NFL, per sources

Despite a published report of ongoing talks between the NFL and members of Ezekiel Elliott’s camp regarding a possible settlement of the legal battle over his six-game suspension, sources close to the Dallas Cowboys running back say he is not looking to cut a deal.

His focus is on clearing his name of the domestic assault allegations that led to the suspension, not just reducing the number of games he will miss.

While a settlement is a general end to any litigation in lawsuits because it offers finality and certainty, per a source, Elliott and his lawyers not only feel good about gaining a full preliminary injunction that will keep him on the field but of possibly winning the case outright.

Elliott is currently buoyed by a temporary restraining order from Judge Paul Crotty that keeps him eligible to play until Oct. 30, or when Judge Katherine Failla returns from vacation to hear arguments for a preliminary injunction.

Crotty joins Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas, where Elliott got the initial preliminary injunction before it was thrown out because of jurisdiction concerns, and Judge James Graves of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to favor Elliott and lambast the league for fundamental unfairness. Graves was the dissenting vote in a 2-1 decision that reinstated Elliott’s suspension.

Another reason for Elliott not to settle is that any suspension by the NFL, no matter how many games, triggers the loss of guarantees from his contract

No matter how much Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has supported Elliott, he’s not going to be able to ignore the clause in his contract that causes the forfeiture of guaranteed money with an NFL suspension, per a source.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Ezekiel Elliott not looking to cut a deal with NFL, per sources."