DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has found himself in the national sports media headlines for the second time in a week for owner-related drama.
During the NFL owners meeting in New York on Tuesday, Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly engaged in a "heated exchange" while the owners were discussing details surrounding a new contract for commissioner Roger Goodell, according to a report published by ESPN.
The ESPN report, authored by Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr., claimed that sources said Kraft joined the majority of NFL owners in strong support for the new details of the contract, with Jones being the lone dissenter. The NFL owners voted 31-1 on the measure, ESPN reported.
The discussion got spicy between Jones and Kraft, however, according to ESPN's sources. Jones allegedly told Kraft "don't f--- with me" during the discussion, to which Kraft allegedly responded "excuse me?"
"Don't mess with me," Jones reiterated, according to the ESPN report. ESPN's source denied that the Cowboys owner's "outburst" was connected to any lingering animosity between Kraft and Jones.
The measure then passed 31-1, as previously mentioned.
The ESPN report recalled Jones' previous hesitations with Goodell's contract, mentioning that in 2017, Jones was outspoken against the structure of Goodell's compensation of the then-five-year deal. Jones reportedly took issue with the fact that Goodell's contract was structured to be mostly salary-based instead of being mostly bonus-based due to performance and was "not connected to a strict set of financial goals and metrics without a more rigorous review," according to sources.
ESPN's source also added that Jones allegedly thought Goodell's financial targets were "too vague."
Representatives for the Cowboys, Patriots and NFL all declined to comment on the exchange.
Just last week, Jones was also the subject of another ESPN report involving NFL owner drama. On Thursday, Oct. 13, ESPN released a lengthy and detailed report claiming Washington owner Dan Snyder had allegedly “tracked” other team owners and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and has "a file" on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Further details on what alleged "dirt" Snyder supposedly has on Jones was unclear, ESPN reported. The Cowboys also declined to comment for this ESPN report.
The drama involving Snyder was also on the docket at the NFL owner's meetings in New York on Tuesday, with Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters he believes the NFL potentially has the votes to remove Snyder from owning the Commanders.
A letter – written from Snyder to the other NFL owners – was released Tuesday evening which he vehemently denies the claims made in ESPN's report regarding he had private investigators look into them.
You can read the letter here:
The NFL requires a two-thirds majority vote (24 out of 32 owners) to agree to remove an owner.
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