Goodell's latest contract extension is a core element of Jerry Jones' conflict with the leagueGETTY IMAGES
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has "requested a hearing" before NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to "make his case why he shouldn't have to be responsible" for around $2M in fees the league accrued as Jones tried to prevent Goodell's latest contract extension, according to a source cited by Kate Hairopoulos of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The hearing has "not yet been set." It could be "overseen by Goodell or a designee appointed by him." Cowboys Exec VP, COO & Dir of Player Personnel Stephen Jones yesterday from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis "declined to discuss the NFL measure." He said, "I'll let Jerry address that at the appropriate time" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/28). In DC, Mark Maske cites sources as saying that a large number of owners "supported the order for Jones to repay the legal expenses." A source estimated that as many as 29 of the 32 teams are "in favor of the league’s action against Jones" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/28). In St. Louis, Ben Frederickson wrote Goodell and Jones have gone from "happily sitting together in the front seat of the Rams relocation movement to clawing at one another in increasingly public fashion." With Jones on the "losing end now," history tells us "revenge will be in his plans" (STLTODAY.com, 2/27).
WHAT'S THE REAL REASON? SI.com's Jimmy Traina wrote whether the NFL is "entitled to that money or not, how can anyone think this isn't anything but a tit-for-tat, revenge situation for Goodell?" The NFL "does not need" that $2M. But Jones was "vocal about possibly not wanting Goodell to remain commissioner and wanted to fight his contract extension." Jones "lost." But clearly that "isn't enough for Goodell." Traina: "Why bother bringing all this bad PR upon yourself? You can't even win a fight against Jerry Jones (of all people) in the court of public opinion" (SI.com, 2/27). FS1's Jason McIntyre said, "What's more American than what Jerry Jones is doing right here? You're either with me or against me. Roger Goodell is against him and they're going to war." McIntyre: "What happens if he rolls over to Goodell, what are the other owners going to say?" ("Speak For Yourself," FSI, 2/27).
THE FEUD RAGES ON: YAHOO SPORTS' Charles Robinson reported the "still-decaying state of affairs" between Goodell and Jones is the NFL’s "shadow struggle." It is "threatening to press on in perpetuity -- Goodell trying to corral an owner with an unquenchable thirst to dictate the league’s future; Jones continually angling to reduce the power of an overpaid and underperforming caretaker." Those close to Jones "believe something more nefarious is afoot, specifically, a campaign designed to beat back and scold the Cowboys owner while publicly reasserting Goodell’s power and reach." One source who is a Jones ally said that Goodell's plan to fine Jones is a "'hip check' from the NFL’s Park Avenue offices." Robinson noted this is "bound to add an extended chill to a relationship between Goodell and Jones that was already icy at best." Sources said that Jones is "well aware of the union’s planned war chest and work-stoppage design" following the '20 season. They said that some "hardened beliefs are beginning to materialize in the mind" of Jones. The first is that he is going to have to be a "key player in all future decisions," especially upcoming CBA talks. As labor negotiations move closer, those close to Jones "believe his sense of personal manifest destiny will lead him to push harder on fellow owners to be the lead in every major decision." They also believe Jones could be an owner who "extends some kind of olive branch" to NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith, as a means of "'rebooting' the relationship between the league office and the union" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/27).
