Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones expressed his views on the NFL's
marketing and sponsorship system in a guest column in this
morning's DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Jones opens, "The face of
professional sports is constantly changing. My personal
philosophy regarding change -- and progress -- is that innovation
is not a spectator sport. You better be one of the group that is
spearheading change and pushing the envelope." Jones continues
by addressing his team's "recent moves in the areas of marketing
and sponsorships." Jones: "Anything done by the Cowboys in the
area of team marketing is done in a progressive spirit, with the
intention of benefiting the entire National Football League."
Jones adds that the "primary flaw" in current revenue sharing of
NFL Properties "is that it eliminates the incentive for teams to
go out and aggressively create marketing opportunities that are
unique to their team and community." Jones: "Quite frankly, we
can all do better at the local level." Jones writes that
individual franchises "are much better suited to create their own
unique marketing strategies than a central sales force that is
located in New York City." EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW YOU
LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN: Jones writes that he believes revenue
sharing "is critical to the overall balance and success of a
league. I also believe the time has come to modify some of the
procedures we have in place for creating and distributing
revenue." Jones notes that he is against changing the system in
which television and gate money are split, and adds that the
ticket revenue sharing system "has worked on the incentive plan,"
encouraging local teams to hustle "to put people in the seats" by
rewarding them with 2/3 of ticket revenue. Jones: "I believe
that each team could easily improve upon the 5 percent that is
currently generated by NFL properties." BALANCE WILL REMAIN
STABLE: Jones believes an incentive-based system "is not going
to upset any perceived balance of power, it's only going to open
untapped outlets of opportunity." Jones says "safeguards" could
be established to help teams with "geographic or economic
disadvantages in this new way of marketing." Jones: "The league
is only as strong as our weakest team" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
8/30).
