Patriots Rumors: Ezekiel Elliott's Contract Guarantees, Incentives, Bonuses Revealed

Ezekiel Elliott is no longer one of the NFL's highest-paid running backs following his impressive career with the Dallas Cowboys, but he's getting a solid deal with his new team.

The New England Patriots signed Elliott to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio shared the contract breakdown Wednesday, including the incentive benchmarks that Elliott would need to reach to earn the full $6 million:

• He'll earn $50,000 per game that he's on the active roster, which equates to $850,000 over the 17-game regular-season schedule. 

• Signing bonus of $600,000. 
• Base salary of $1.55 million, though it reduces to $1 million if he suffers a season-ending injury prior to Week 1. 

• He'll receive $300,000 for reaching each of these yards from scrimmage marks: 975, 1,100, 1,225, 1,350, 1,475.
• He'll receive $300,000 for participating in 50 percent of the offensive snaps, and an additional $300,000 is added in 5 percent increments up to 70 percent. 

Elliott was once considered one of the premier running backs in the NFL, but his decline in performance over the last several seasons coupled with the depreciated running back market made it so that he essentially had to accept a less lucrative deal.

The Ohio State product had spent the first seven years of his career in Dallas before being released by the Cowboys this offseason as the franchise elevated Tony Pollard to RB1 following a breakout 2022 campaign.

Elliott was named the 2016 Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned three Pro Bowl selections and an All-Pro honor during his time with America's Team.

While he posted four seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards, one of which came in 2021, his performance hasn't lived up to expectations since he rushed for 1,357 yards in 2019, and his yards per attempt also reached a new low last year.

Elliott rushed for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns in 15 games last season, in addition to catching 17 passes for 92 yards, but he averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt, down from the 4.2 yards per attempt he averaged in 2021.

That said, he's still a great addition to the New England backfield alongside Rhamondre Stevenson, and the Patriots needed to add some extra star power entering the 2023 season given the additions teams across the AFC East made this offseason, most notably Aaron Rodgers going to the New York Jets.