Ezekiel Elliott's love affair with the Salvation Army gained another chapter on Thursday.
The Cowboys running back is establishing a yearly holiday tradition of celebrating with the giant Salvation Army bin at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. After scoring a first quarter touchdown against the Redskins on Thanksgiving, Elliott headed over to the big kettle and celebrated by making a cash donation. One of the nearby field staffers handed him $21 (his jersey number) to deposit into the bin.
.@EzekielElliott is getting fed early on Thanksgiving.
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2018
Touchdown, #DallasCowboys! #FEEDZEKE
📺: #WASvsDAL on FOX pic.twitter.com/Q4xl74S8ut
A few years ago, Elliott scored a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and celebrated by hopping into the bin. It was quite amusing, but also very beneficial for the Salvation Army's cause. The celebration led to a considerable spike in donations to the organization, and Elliott himself donated after the NFL decided it wouldn't fine him for the gesture.
Even though I will not be fined I still will be making a donation to the @SalvationArmyUS pic.twitter.com/AMJ1gSuse3
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) December 19, 2016
Salvation Army says it's received $850k in online donations since Ezekiel Elliott jumped in bucket. That buys 91k meals to those in need.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 20, 2016
With that in mind, Elliott's $21 donation could be worth a lot more, especially considering it comes in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving.
"We have those kettles there because we do want the visibility of reminding everybody, certainly at this time of year, how doing the most good is putting a dollar in that red kettle," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in 2016. "To have gotten that attention in front of probably 20 million or so people last night for the Salvation Army was just wonderful."
'Tis the season for giving.
