Is Jerry Jones a great NFL owner? Maybe: It kinda depends on your criteria.
If you think the fundamental job of an NFL owner is generating wealth, then Jones is one of the most stunningly successful owners in the history of sports. He bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million, and today his franchise is worth about $11 billion.
Not too shabby of an ROI.
More importantly, his aggressive approach to branding, merchandising, and marketing revolutionized the league. At first, the NFL threw a yellow hanky in the air, serving him with a $300 million lawsuit for carving independent sponsorship deals with American Express, Nike, and Pepsi. (Jones countersued for $750 million; the two sides later reconciled.) But long-term, the NFL ceded to Jones’ vision. Not only did the other owners ape his business model, but they asked Jones to lead their multibillion-dollar TV negotiations. In less than a decade, he went from being an outside agitator to the ultimate NFL insider.
Oh, by the way: The estimated value of the current TV package? About $110 billion.
So, if the name of the game is making money, Jones is in a class of his own. Despite not sniffing the Superbowl in nearly 30 years (Jan. 14, 2026, will mark the 30th anniversary of their last trip to the NFC Championship Game), the Cowboys remain the crown jewel of American sports.
Of the 10 most-watched NFL regular season games, 6 featured the Cowboys. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Dallas Cowboys still command more eyeballs than just about any other franchise.
But there’s another way to evaluate an NFL owner: If the fundamental purpose of sports is to compete for championships, then your trophy case is the only measuring stick that matters.
And Jerry Jones’ cupboard has been bare for three consecutive decades.
Since the end of the 1995 season, every single NFC team has reached the NFC Championship Game at least once, with one (very) notable exception:
The Dallas Cowboys.
Jones hit paydirt when he entered the league in 1989: Jimmy Johnson, his old Arkansas roomie, was perfectly positioned to run a franchise. He already knew the top college talent, since he recruited so many of ‘em to “The U” (University of Miami). Within short order, he transformed a downtrodden Cowboys team that had gone 3-13 and 1-15 in consecutive years to hoisting three Lombardi Trophies(!) by the halfway point of the 1990s.
Back then, Jerry Jones was listed as the Cowboys’ “general manager,” but everyone understood that Jimmy Johnson really ran the show. Jones was the businessman; Johnson the football savant.
Together, they built the greatest team of the decade.
And then Jimmy Johnson was fired. (Or resigned; it’s still disputed.) Ever since, Jerry Jones has ruled the roost with an iron fist — overseeing everything Cowboys-related from “jocks to socks,” as he likes to say. He negotiates the contracts. He chooses the décor of the stadium. He decides who stays and who goes.
Including his own tenure as general manager.
Which is becoming a really big problem: Jerry Jones the owner won’t fire Jerry Jones the general manager, despite 30 consecutive years of misery and failure!
If you believe the primary job of an NFL owner is to hire a competent GM and a competitive head coach, then Jones is a uniquely horrible owner. The GM he employs will turn 83 in two months, and Jerry Jones flat-out can’t compete with the younger, smarter, full-time executives on other teams. Whereas other G.M.s are reviewing videotape in the wee hours of the evening, interviewing coaches, or building relationships with agents, Jones is sipping cocktails on his Bravo Eugenua superyacht. (Estimated value: $250 million.)
Jones is too old. He’s too distracted. And he’s too indifferent.
The responsibilities of an NFL general manager aren’t cleanly delineated. Each team does it slightly different: Some GMs hire the head coach and run 100% of personnel. Others are more subservient to the vision of the head coach. So, if the Cowboys wanted to, they could easily promote Will McClay to the GM title. Not only is he ridiculously qualified — he already runs the Cowboys’ player personnel department and deftly manages the draft — but because he’s black, under the Rooney Rule, the Cowboys would be awarded with a bonus third-round draft pick.
Nothing else would have to change. Jones would continue to own the team; he’d continue to down copious amounts of Johnnie Walker Blue, party with billionaires (and/or their daughters), and have a good ol’ time. The only difference is, Will McClay would gain a new title.
Which is why it’ll never happen: Jones values keeping his title more than he values the extra draft pick.
That’s because winning isn’t his priority. He’d rather lose (30 seasons in a row — and counting!) doing it his way, than win doing it someone else’s way.
Between the prestige of the Cowboys brand (mostly in terms of visibility) and the lack of a Texas state income tax, the Dallas Cowboys were ideally situated to run circles around other teams. When free agents sign with Dallas, not only do they retain a much larger percentage of their income than they would in, say, California (screw the 49ers), but win or lose, they’re almost certain to become more famous.
That bodes well for their podcast views and post-retirement broadcast careers.
Inexplicably, the Cowboys have squandered each and every one of their institutional advantages. From bungling major contracts to senselessly stirring discord, the Dallas Cowboys have become a clown show.
Micah Parsons, arguably the greatest pure pass-rusher of his generation, has now demanded a trade out of Dallas, declaring, “I no longer want to be here.”
Thank you Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
It follows the far-longer-than-necessary negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott (twice!) and star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Each time, Jones ultimately paid through the nose, making Prescott and Lamb the highest-paid players at their positions. And each time, had Jones simply paid them earlier, he would’ve saved tens of millions of dollars in cap space — money that could’ve been spent on improving the roster.
But with the salary cap, Jones is still paying out the same amount anyway. It won’t cost him one penny extra!
This year, the cap is $279.2 million. Because Jones dragged his feet, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott — and next year, probably Micah Parsons — will devour a far larger percentage of the cap than was otherwise necessary. That sucks for people like Will McClay who are trying to build a competitive team, but Jerry Jones won’t bear the cost. His expenditure is fixed.
As it is, Jones has told his shrinking fanbase to calm down, shut up, and stop complaining about Micah Parsons: Ol’ Jerrah knows what he’s doing:
“I’ve heard [trade requests] so many times in my 30 years in the NFL, from not just players but agents,” Jones said. “That is old stuff, 30 years of old stuff, some of these issues we’re hearing about: trading, hurt backs, all that kind of stuff.”
Old stuff, eh? Thirty years of old stuff?!
That’s not the only thing that’s gotten “old” over the last 30 years.
Jerry Jones needs to sell the team ASAP. He doesn’t realize it yet, but the bottom’s about to fall out: The mood amongst the Cowboys fanbase has changed. We caught a glimpse of it last year, when fan attendance at Dallas Cowboys training camp suddenly plummeted, but this is different.
Fans no longer believe in the team, because one way or another, Jerry Jones will screw it all up anyway.
If the Cowboys stumble out of the gate, this is gonna get ugly in a hurry. I’m talking a full-blown fan rebellion.
To quote one ex-Cowboy, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.”
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