Jerry Jones No Longer the Owner of the Dallas Cowboys?
Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, is threatening to bench players for anthem protests, is suing the National Football League (NFL), and is attempting to block the re-election of Roger Goodell as commissioner of the league.
Are all of these issues leading towards Jerry Jones being ousted by the league, or is that fake news?
Ownership History
Before getting into the possible outcomes of the conflicts that Jerry Jones is involved in, here is a brief history of the Cowboys under his ownership.
In 1989, Jones purchased the team for $140.0 million. Immediately after becoming the new owner, he took control of the team by firing Tom Landry, who was the head coach at the time. He then gave the head coach job to Jimmy Johnson. Then Jones fired the team’s general manager, Tex Schramm, and took over the general manager duties on his own. The 2017 NFL season marked the 28th year of Jones holding both the owner and general manager titles.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones signs autographs before the start of the NFL game (Credits: Christian Petersen/Staff/ Getty Images)
Jones is a three-time Super Bowl champion. Today, the Dallas Cowboys have the highest team value in the league, with an estimated $4.2-billion value.
With such a long history in the league and being the most influential owner, why would Jones lose his ownership stake in the Dallas Cowboys?
Benching Players for “Taking a Knee”
The NFL is having a problem with retaining viewers and attracting new fans. For the first six weeks of the 2017 season, there was approximately an eight-percent drop in fans tuning into games compared to the 2016 season. (Source: “NFL’s first six weeks sees viewership drop,” Business Insider, October 20, 2017.)
There are a few reasons for this occurring, such as fans cutting their cable TV services, which results in no possibility of tuning into a game at home. Many fans are, instead, tracking their teams through highlight videos on digital media sources, which does not benefit the NFL TV ratings.
Another possible reason for the drop in viewership is that President Donald Trump has told fans to boycott the league because of players kneeling during the pre-game anthems. According to The Nielsen Company, however NFL TV viewership was already on the decline, regardless of Trump’s comments.
President Trump and many football fans feel that players who have been kneeling were disrespecting the American flag and not honoring everything that the country stands for. This has been happening all around the league, from teams on the east and west coasts.
The purpose of the kneeling by players was to start a discussion about racism and police brutality within the country and to work toward the goal of equality. However, much of the public feels that by kneeling during the national anthem, the players are not respecting members of the military who fought for the country.
Some fans have decided to protest on their own terms by spending their personal time on other things and not watching NFL games. This is a concern for the league, since it has the highest revenue generation figures among all major leagues. The highest amount of the league’s revenue comes from television and merchandise branding.
In October, Jerry Jones said that if players kneel during the national anthem, he will suspend them from playing.
Since Jones has the most valued team and has the greatest impact on the overall revenue of the league, he will do anything in his power to ensure there are more viewers tuning into games.
Suspending players for not standing for the anthem could result in an uproar, however.
For instance, what if Dak Prescott, the starting quarterback, kneeled during the anthem and got suspended?
This could result in him missing a big game and ruining the entire season for the Cowboys, since the result of each game matters. This could then snowball into more viewers not watching Cowboys games, advertisers looking elsewhere to spend their dollars, and hurting the revenue stream for all NFL team owners.
Suing the NFL
Recently, NFL Commissioner Goodell decided to suspend Ezekiel Elliott for six games, in relation to the NFL’s investigation into a domestic abuse case. Elliott is the starting running back for the Cowboys.
That led Jones to express intentions to sue the NFL for punishing Elliot.
The league keeps changing its rules on how to deal with domestic abuse cases. Elliott was not charged by Ohio authorities, even though the authorities had been investigating the allegations from the very beginning.
Further, the NFL didn’t properly investigate the case. In the off-season, the NFL’s lead investigator, Lisa Friel, said there was no case and there would be no investigation. Later, after the NFL season began, the NFL’s investigation office changed its tune and looked into the matter some more.
Jones wants to sue the NFL for misleading him about the Elliot case. He feels that there was a breach of trust by the NFL, including Goodell. This has put a sour taste in Jones’s mouth. Jones is one of a handful of owners who want Goodell to be replaced with a new leader.
Under current procedures, two-thirds of the NFL owners need to vote in favor of a deal to determine how to pay Goodell. Jones is pushing to increase the voting approval requirement to three-fourths of the owners. The current proposal is that Goodell receives an incentive-based salary instead of the current salary that is more fixed (but with bonuses). Jones is opposed to this change, because he believes that the incentives are too loosely defined. Jones feels that the committee in charge of Goodell’s pay determination was not honest with him about the change, and he is thinking of suing this committee over this.
If Jones does sue the league, it could result in a changing of the commissioner, or it could result in Jones getting the commissioner’s pay structure more in line with what he likes. Going after the pay committee is the easiest method to sue the NFL, since there is nothing that could be done regarding Elliot’s suspension. Goodell’s current contract expires in May 2018.
What Is Happening with Goodell’s Contract?
Previously, the NFL commissioner’s salary was publicly disclosed, since the NFL was structured as a non-profit organization. Since 2015, however, when the league gave up its non-profit status, Goodell’s salary stopped being a matter of public record. His yearly pay, however, was reported at $44.0 million in 2014 and $34.0 million in 2015.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walks off the field after warmups(Credits: Adam Bettcher / Stringer/Getty Images)
Even though NFL TV ratings are down, revenue is still rising. NFL revenue in 2017 is expected to come in around $14.0 billion, which is nearly double what was seen in 2010. The growth trend is expected to continue, with $25.0 billion in annual revenue expected to be hit by 2027. (Source: “NFL will reach $14 billion in 2017 revenue,” NBC Sports, March 6, 2017.)
These estimates are based on more lucrative television and media deals. In addition, the NFL is looking to expand the game globally. It has started hosting games in London, England, and more games could be added in Europe. Asia is also a key area for growth, with India and China both having populations of more than a billion people.
There have been rumors coming out of NFL owners’ meetings that Goodell wants $49.5 million per year, a private jet, and lifetime health insurance for him and his family. That is quite a raise in pay from his previous agreement. Goodell does have the leverage to ask for what he wants, since he is growing revenue and is expected to continue to do so. There is no agreement in place as of yet between Goodell and the owners though.
The team owners are the ones who determine all of the compensation at the end of the day. The reason for this is that Goodell works for the owners, and the revenue earned by the teams and the league is used to pay the commissioner. Even though, from a business standpoint, revenue is up, the owners could do as they wish.
Jones has been an NFL owner for decades and he has experience in working through these processes before. Typically, when the owners want a new commissioner, they let the current commissioner’s contract expire and let things go into the dark. Then, when the deal is expired, the search for a new candidate begins. Therefore, Jones’s threat of suing the league and not committing to a new contract for the commissioner seems like a strategic move.
Is It Possible for Jones to Lose His Ownership of the Dallas Cowboys?
Yes, it is possible that Jones could lose his team ownership.
Owners have control of their own teams and of other teams in the league. For example, when a team is up for sale and a bid is put in, the offer will be looked at by the current owners to determine whether the transaction should be allowed. One reason for this is that it protects the brand of the league and each team.
Recently, Donald Sterling, who was the owner of the L.A. Clippers NBA basketball team was forced by the league and other team owners to sell his stake in the team. This was a result of a video of racist remarks that Sterling had made. These comments included insults towards players in the league. In addition, Sterling was banned from attending any NBA games.
In regards to Jones, his actions are not at the same level as Sterling. Jones’ actions are based on his goal of making the league a better place. It is unlikely that Jones will be prevented from continuing to be the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. He is a smart businessman with good advisors surrounding him, who will ensure that he does not cross any lines.
I would say there are higher odds of Goodell losing his commissioner duties than Jones losing his ownership of the Cowboys.