Jerry Jones has long been recognized as one of the most important men in American professional sports, but has he managed to alienate himself from some of his peers with the way he has handled the big issues surrounding the NFL recently?
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has been told by several league and ownership sources that Jones is starting to lose his credibility and powerful voice with the way he has launched a campaign against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Jones has been trying to stand in the way of Goodell’s contract extension, and many of his fellow owners reportedly feel that his opposition to the new deal is entirely based on Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension.
According to La Canfora, Jones has angered other team owners by threatening to sue the six-owner compensation committee that was tasked with working out the details of Goodell’s new deal. One source estimates that Jones has “at best” three other owners who agree with his stance on Goodell’s extension, and 24 votes would be needed to truly impeded the process.
“This is way over the top,” an NFL source told La Canfora. “You don’t threaten to sue your business partners because you are pissed off that your running back got suspended. That’s not how business is conducted in the league. Jerry already had only a handful of guys backing him on this (calling for Goodell’s job), and he is isolating himself more and more by doing things this way. This isn’t how you try to get your way in the NFL. It’s not going to work.”
You can understand why there would be questions about the astronomical amount of money Goodell has made in recent years given some of the major issues he has botched, but the majority of team owners are pleased with the way the league has grown and the profits they have made. Between his perceived personal gripe with Goodell and the controversial remarks he has made about national anthem protests, you can understand why Jones is irritating his business partners.
