Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is excited about getting his star running back Ezekiel Elliott locked up to a long term deal. Jones was in New York to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and told CNBC that Elliott deserves every penny of his extension.

“Zeke has been arguably our best player,” Jones said in an interview with CNBC via the Dallas Cowboys team website. “I’m not trying to be unfair to anybody else. But he’s an incremental part to our success. We’re glad to get him booked in, we’re glad to have him on the team.”

Jones knows there is some concern from people who think that Elliott will be washed up before his contract is over because of the short shelf life of a running back, but that isn't something he is concerned about, and points to Emmitt Smith as a reason why.

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“And he plays a position that has some pretty interesting dynamics to it because running backs are short-lived, although we had what I consider to be one of the top five greatest ones in Emmitt Smith, and Emmitt ran the ball for 13 years. So you don’t have to have a four- or five-year career to be a running back. On the other hand, Zeke allows us to create such problems for the defense that then we can open it up to our passing, open it up for Dak Prescott.”

With the extension, Elliott will be under contract with the Cowboys for the next eight years and the hope is he can continue to put up Hall of Fame numbers, much like Smith.

He is also expected to suit up on Sunday when the Cowboys take on Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants in Week 1.