Jason Garrett to Ezekiel Elliott: You’re leaving money on the table

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has talked with star running back Ezekiel Elliott plenty of times regarding his off-field behavior.

Elliott, 22, remains under investigation for domestic violence allegations made against him more than a year ago. He’s also made headlines for the wrong reasons such as visiting a marijuana dispensary, exposing a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day festivity and recently being involved in a bar altercation.

All of that has drawn attention to Elliott and could force him to miss time on the field. An NFL Media reporter said that a decision on a possible suspension of Elliott is not expected this week as commissioner Roger Goodell is waiting for four outside advisors to finish their work on the case.

Outside of that, though, Garrett has tried to enlighten Elliott on how his behavior could also be affecting his bottom line.

In an interview with SI.com, Garrett explained his standpoint.

“I’ve asked him, ‘What do you want to be?’” Garrett told the website. “I’ve had him try to understand the potential paths he could go down, the opportunities he has, on and off the field. They’re off the charts. He’s an infectious, very likable, hard-working kid. My point to him is, ‘If you maximize your abilities, you might be able to make $200 million off the field, like LeBron [James]. Or you could make a million.’

“I mean, say you’re AT&T, or you’re Pepsi. You’re looking for a spokesman for your product. What would you do right now? You’d probably say if you’re one of those companies, ‘Oh, we’ll go with Dak. Or we’ll go with Jordan Spieth.’ But that’s in his control.”

Prescott has landed several endorsements this offseason with companies such as Pepsi, Frito-Lay and Beats by Dre. Prescott also had thousands attend his youth football camps this summer.

Elliott, meanwhile, hasn’t gotten as much of that even though he led the league in rushing as a rookie.

Garrett was asked about his conversations with Elliott again on Monday.

“We talk to all of our players about being their best and maximizing their opportunities, understanding the opportunity that we have here with the Cowboys,” Garrett said. “And waking up every day and striving to be your best in everything that you do and hopefully you continue to create good opportunities for yourself both on and off the field. That was the essence of the conversation with him and I’ve had that conversation with a number of other players on our team.”

Asked if the message resonated with Elliott, Garrett said: “Again, the message is more about being your best and taking full advantage of an opportunity you have.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Jason Garrett to Ezekiel Elliott: You’re leaving money on the table."