When a typical (executory) contract is signed, the parties agree to perform whatever they are going to do in exchange for the performance of the other. For example, one give $250,000 and one gives over ownership of a house. Both sides perform.

If a party fails to perform, they risk suit for specific performance, damages, etc.

Obviously NFL contracts are not written this way. Someone help me (and maybe some other ignorant people here) understand the ins and outs - and whys!

Thank you.

I don’t think they have to pay him if he doesn’t show up. If The Cowboys threaten to sue him, he might show up, and not really try hard, or fake an injury, and then you’d be no better off and still have to pay him.

First off, there’s an adversarial relationship between the owners and the players.

That’s why the players have a union and the owners don’t give guaranteed contracts

The consensus is the players, like Elliott, don’t live up to the contract that they signed. Fundamentally, that’s true but the owners can be at fault as well

It’s not uncommon for ownership to tell a player who is coming off a poor performing or injury plagued year to take a pay cut or be cut from the team. In that case, ownership is reneging on the the contract they agreed to

Correct.

There are lots of caveats. For the most part, NFL contracts are skewed highly in the team's favor. They can cut a player at any time and not owe any more money. However if a player decides to quit, he is still locked into that team until the term of the contract is up, so he can't go to another team even though he is not playing or getting paid.

Most of the top players push for as much guaranteed money as possible. This is generally a bonus paid upfront, or in annual installments. It gets paid regardless of injury, or even if the player retires or gets cut or traded. But very few players get much guaranteed money.

Also all players salaries are received as game checks so they get 16 paydays a year. You'd be surprised how many are broke during the off season and taking loans from agents or owners to bridge them into the fall.

Cowboys can charge him $40K a day for not showing up. Problem is most teams wave this after player shows up and they sign a new contract.

Because football players are union thugs.

The collective bargaining agreement convolutes it quite a bit, and highly paid members of the media who are “experts” at it, frequently get it wrong.

What’s been said here so far pretty much lines up with what my limited understanding of it is.

Also, Steven Jones was just on the Rich Eisen show, and he said the team has the option to be fining Zeke, but they are not currently doing so (if I heard it right, it was on in the background.”

They probably will not fine him but every game he misses is like 250K, ouch !

It's not a free market--there is an annual salary cap. So if someone is willing to buy your house for 300,000; but if there is a house buy/sell annual cap of 250,000; the maximum you could sell the house for (all at one time) would be 250,000. Now, you could sell your house for 250,000 this year; then get deferred payments--much like Tony Romo got a check from Jerry last year (Tony took up 9 million dollars of the Cowboy's 2018 salary cap).

To work around the salary cap, teams back load contracts and minimize guaranteed salary. So if a player gets hurt or underperforms, much of the back loaded money is never seen by the player if they are released.

A typical NFL player will have the following in his contract
1. Signing bonus--guaranteed money that counts against the cap.--this is usually spread out over a number of years to minimize the effect on the salary cap each year
2. Cash incentives--performance based money
Here's where it gets tricky
Some is likely to be earned (counts against the cap)--showing up at mini camp, practice, likely projected performance goals
Some is unlikely to be earned (does not count against the cap)--Hypothetically, if Dak gets a bonus for setting a record for the most passing yards in a season
3. Back ended money--not guaranteed and doesn't count against the cap if the player is released before it kicks in.