In 2016 when he was a rookie and playing in his first Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game, Ezekiel Elliott scored a touchdown and jumped into the giant red Salvation Army kettle behind the end zone to celebrate.

Though that was BC — Before (NFL-Legal) Celebration — Elliott wasn’t fined by the league.

This year, he’s playing in another Thanksgiving game, and found a slightly different way to celebrate a score in Dallas’ 31-23 victory against Washington.

Money in the bucket

Elliott scored on a 16-yard run five minutes into the game, putting Dallas up 7-0 on divisional rival Washington.

After scoring, he looked for one person in particular, a man who was wearing one of the vests photographers allowed to be on the sidelines wear, and that man gave Elliott some money.

Elliott held it up to the camera – it appeared to be a $20 and a $1, $21 presumably because Elliott wears No. 21 – and then threw it into the red bucket.

What happened if he didn’t score?

Good on Elliott for making the donation (yeah, yeah, you think it could have been more … he didn’t have to donate at all, and let’s be honest, it was a stunt), and for planning ahead with the photographer, who is likely a team employee.

One question: If Elliott hadn’t scored, did he have to return the money to the running back?

Back to the bucket

Eventually, a jubilant Cowboys player did find his way into the bucket. Just not Elliott. When Dak Prescott scrambled for a late touchdown to extend Dallas’ lead to 31-13, Elliott gave his quarterback a helping hand into the bucket.

The move ended up costing the Cowboys 15 yards, but at that point, nobody seemed to care.

More from Yahoo Sports:
• The remarkable story behind Tarik Cohen’s perseverance
• LeBron gets big ovation in return to Cleveland
• 5x Olympian injured trying to protect sister in fatal stabbing
• Aaron Rodgers’ estranged brother rips QB after wildfire donation