When Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott's month-long holdout in 2019 ended in a contract extension worth over $15 million per season, only three other running backs were making eight-figure annual salaries.
Now the NFL's upper class of backs has eight players, including the Vikings' Dalvin Cook, who ahead of Sunday night's game reflected on what he and Elliott have done for a position that can be shortchanged at the negotiating table.
"We did a pretty good job of waking the world's eyes back up to how much the running back position is valued," Cook said Wednesday.