Average annual salary holding up Ezekiel Elliott extension talks?

Over the weekend it looked like the Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott were nearing an extension, then things slowed down a bit. Obviously no deal has been struck, but now we have more details on what exactly is holding things up. The two sides are apparently close on the total amount of guaranteed money in a new deal, but they’re further apart on average annual salary, sources told Calvin Watkins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Elliott has been seeking to become the league’s highest-paid running back, while the Cowboys have been reluctant to eclipse what the Rams gave Todd Gurley. Gurley got around $15M annually, while Le’Veon Bell and David Johnson both got closer to $13M on their extensions. Elliott has been staying away from the team and training on his own, and the start of the regular season is now less than a week away. The Cowboys are apparently trying to get a deal done in time for Elliott to be on the field for Wednesday’s practice, the first full practice of the week, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said in

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