On a Hollywood red carpet last week, jerry Jones, the owner of the NFL’s Dallas cowboys, was asked about his team’s upcoming season.
“If we get that offensive line rolling,” Jones told an interviewer, “we’ll have a good team.”
What counts as a “good” season is more subjective in Dallas then anywhere else – and it’s why, ever since Jones purchased the team for $140 million in 1989, there has been no other north American professional sports franchise quite like the Cowboys.
Since they won Super Bowls in 1992, 1993 and 1995, the Cowboys have not advanced to a conference championship game in 30 years, the fourth-longest active drought in the NFL. That lack of on-field performance would typically doom a franchise’s relevance.
Not the Cowboys.
Since the 1996 season, Dallas has employed eight head coaches, irked several of its biggest superstars during drawn-out contract negotiations and lost 13 of its last 18 playoff games. Yet with Jones keenly keeping them in the conversation, they have won the mindshare of a global audience.
The reason Jones was strolling the red carpet was the premiere of “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” a Netflix docuseries about Jones and his team’s decades of drama. It began streaming only days after Sportico ranked the Cowboys as the NFL’s most valuable franchise, with a worth north of $12 billion. Last year, CNBC also ranked Dallas as the NFL’s most valuable team, while Forbes named it the world’s most valuable sports franchise.
The Cowboys’ value and mystique have been perpetually increased by Jones, 82, who carries official titles of owner, president and general manager of the team while also serving as its chief ringmaster, one uniquely attuned to what fans want.
“I do believe if we’re not being looked at, then I’ll do my part to get us looked at,” jones said at the Netflix premiere. “The stunning thing for networks, if you will, streaming companies, is that the NFL is a 365-day-a-year interest factory. A lot of programming you have to spend as much … to promote it as you to do make it. The Cowboys are a soap opera 365 days a year.When it gets low, I’ll stir it up.”
And few teams capitalize on and court that attention like they do.
Despite their 7-10 record in 2024, 13 games involving the team still ranked among the 100 most-watched prime-time telecasts of last year, which tied with kansas City for most among
Jerry Jones Embraces “Sizzle” as Cowboys Face Contract Disputes and Scrutiny
Table of Contents
dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appears to thrive on the attention – even when it’s negative – surrounding his team. As the Cowboys navigate another preseason marked by contract disputes, most recently with star linebacker Micah Parsons, Jones has consistently positioned himself at the center of the narrative, acknowledging that controversy itself is a valuable asset. This approach, while keeping the Cowboys a constant topic of sports discussion, has also fueled calls for him to relinquish control of the team’s roster management.
A History of Preseason Drama
The current situation with Parsons echoes a pattern that has become familiar during Jones’s tenure. Just last year, the team faced similar challenges with cornerback Trevon Diggs on the eve of the regular season, leading to intense media scrutiny and speculation. From Borrowed funds to a Media Empire
Jones’s willingness to court attention isn’t a recent development. He openly admits to a somewhat improvisational approach to owning the Cowboys, revealing that he initially financed the $140 million purchase in 1989 with borrowed funds, despite only having a fraction of the cost available himself. https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/cowboys-micah-parsons-trade-request-rcna222543 He confessed to losing as much as $1 million per month in the early years, yet quickly recognized the importance of maintaining public interest in the team. This understanding led to innovations designed to maximize the “sizzle” factor. The 2009 opening of AT&T Stadium included a unique feature: a tunnel allowing players to walk to the field while passing by glass-walled lounges filled with high-paying fans. this created a spectacle and further blurred the lines between football and entertainment. Jones explicitly stated last week that the combination of great athletes, emotion, and controversy is key to keeping fans engaged. “It is marvelous to have the great athletes and the great players, but there’s something more there,” he said.”There’s sizzle, there’s emotion, and, if you will, there’s controversy. That controversy is good stuff in terms of keeping and having peopel’s attention.” The current dispute with Micah Parsons,who is seeking a significant contract extension,exemplifies this strategy. Parsons reportedly requested a trade earlier this month,
“Controversy is Good Stuff”
Micah Parsons and the Latest Contract Standoff