Jerry Jones is trying to stand in the way of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell signing a contract extension, and that has reportedly resulted in the Dallas Cowboys owner’s peers kicking the negotiations into overdrive.
Ken Belson of the New York Times reported on Friday that the NFL owners who are responsible for negotiating Goodell’s extension are trying to work faster now that Jones is threatening legal action against the six-owner compensation committee. The owners reportedly agreed to extend Goodell’s contract in May and are trying to complete the deal within weeks in order to avoid a public war with Jones.
People familiar with the negotiations told Belson that Goodell’s new contract has almost been finalized aside from a few minor details. Jones, who is not part of the compensation committee, has insisted that Goodell’s salary in recent years has been way too high relative to his performance.
The common belief is that Jones is upset over the way Goodell handled the Ezekiel Elliott situation. According to Belson’s sources, Jones was “on board” with the terms of Goodell’s extension as recently as two days before the league announced that Elliott would be suspended for six games. Jones has denied that Elliott’s case has anything to do with his opposition to Goodell’s extension. The Cowboys owner has also made it clear that he wants the NFL to ban national anthem protests, which he thinks are bad for business.
Jones is reportedly threatening to sue the compensation committee that is negotiating Goodell’s contract, but it’s hard to imagine him getting anywhere. When you hear what a league spokesman had to say about the ordeal this week, it sounds like there is no major concern about Goodell’s extension falling through.
