Cowboys fans should be pointing the finger at the NBA for Ezekiel Elliott's holdout this month ... so says Too Short, who tells TMZ Sports, basketball players "f*cked up" the NFL!!!
The rapper was standing outside of Bootsy Bellows in L.A. ... when he decided to drop the "f*cking truth" about NFL contract holdouts to our camera guy.
And, yeah ... dude says it's all Adam Silver's fault.
"The f*cking truth is that basketball f*cked everybody up in the head!"
Too Short says all the wild deals NBA owners have given out to mediocre players throughout the past couple seasons has poisoned NFL players who think they deserve MILLIONS now.
"Everybody was like, 'You get $100 million! You get $100 million! You get $150! You get $180! You get $220!' It's f*cked up, now!"
Too Short added, "Athletes are like, 'It's f*cked up. You gotta give us our money!'"
Bad news for the NFL ... it seems to be working -- 'cause Michael Thomas' holdout in New Orleans just ended with a new, 5-year $100 MILLION deal ... and most think Zeke's holdout will end in a similar way.
So ... thanks, Commissioner Silver!