Inside the contract numbers if Ezekiel Elliott stays suspended for 6 games

In May of 2016, rookie Ezekiel Elliott, the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, signed a four-year, $24.9 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys, which included a $16.35 million signing bonus.

The deal is fully guaranteed and comes with a fifth-year option.

Today, he will begin serving a six-year suspension without pay for violating the league’s personal conduct policy following a year-long investigation into domestic violence allegations.

A three-judge panel in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied his motion for a preliminary injunction. The stay has been lifted and Elliott, 22, is officially placed on the suspension list for the next six games, starting Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

His next hearing date is Dec. 1 which means Elliott will definitely miss four games, Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Redskins.

The financial hit stemming from a six-game suspension is big.

With a $1.584 million base salary for 2017, the loss of six games alone this year would cost him $560,000.

If he was forced to serve it in 2018, it would be $960,000 as the prorated amount on his $2.718 million base salary.

He would have to pay back a portion of his signing bonus money. That is part of the collective bargaining agreement that comes along with all drug or personal conduct suspensions.

The final total on that would be $1.4 million.

That number would be deducted from future earnings rather than Elliott writing a check back to the team, according to a source.

In addition, salaries for 2018 and 2019 (totaling $3.853 million) would no longer be guaranteed against a career-ending injury.

That last detail is notable because Elliott plays a position that takes a lot of punishment and injuries are part of the game.

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Inside the contract numbers if Ezekiel Elliott stays suspended for 6 games."