It is safe to say that Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones is not too fond of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The relationship between Jones and Goodell turned toxic, prompting Jones to lobby against Goodell’s coming extension with the league in 2017. Alas, Jones’ crusade against Goodell was short lived, with the league choosing to extend him with a five-year contract through 2024 worth $200 million.
Goodell’s tenure as commissioner has been riddled with PR nightmares, such as the Ray Rice incident and Deflategate, to name a few. The NFL, just this week, settled out of court with Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid for collusion allegations over the players being blackballed due to their social justice protests.
On his own, but especially in comparison to Goodell’s recent stretch, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has experienced a fruitful five-year run since taking over in 2014.
The NFL apparently noticed, as Silver has been contacted by some owners to gauge his willingness to switch leagues and become football’s commissioner, as reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on Thursday.
It would surprise no one if it was ever uncovered Jones was one of the owners who tried to recruit Silver.
With that in mind, here are five reasons we came up with on why Jones would want Silver as NFL commissioner.
Reason 1: The NBA’s Soaring Popularity
Jones has always been a man who knows business, it is one reason why the Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world, valued at $5 billion. He must be keeping an eye on the NBA’s recent surge in popularity. As Shelburne put it in her report:
League revenues have increased from $4.8 billion to a projected $9.1 billion in Silver’s five years. Team valuations have increased by 267 percent, from an average of $509 million in 2013 to $1.9 billion in the latest Forbes Magazine valuations.
Of course, the NFL is still wildly successful. Even though Super Bowl LIII drew the lowest ratings in a decade, the league’s revenue stream has been trending in the right direction.
The league is making more money than ever, but it would be hard to attribute that solely to Goodell. It might have more to do with the fact that the NFL has been scoring at a higher rate, which could certainly attract casual viewership. In 2018, the league averaged 23.3 points per game, the third highest of all-time. – Eli Cuellar
Reason 2: The Ezekiel Elliott Saga
(Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
For those who may have lived under a rock and missed the saga that cast a shadow over the entire 2017 season, Jones was adamant his star running back was going to be in the clear when it came to league discipline over a domestic violence accusation placed on the 2016 first-round pick. Things drug out though, and eventually the league suspended Elliott six games despite their own lead investigator recommending no suspension because her inquiry found the accuser not to be credible.
Things played out in courtrooms from Texas to New York, with every few weeks an injunction having to come in to reinstate Elliott until in November a final decision was made that the league had unilateral power to decide the fates of any player without court intervention.
The courts ruled the CBA gave Goodell sweeping authority to discipline as he felt, they weren’t asked or put in a position to decide whether or not Elliott deserved to be punished, just that the league had the right to make whatever decision they wanted.
The perception is that Jones was sold a bill of goods, and it forced him to sour on Goodell. Soon after, Jones publicly threatened to sue to prevent Goodell from receiving his pending five-year new contract, and made efforts to keep it from happening. Combined with his support of Elliott’s grievance, his actions were deemed as conduct detrimental to the league and fined $2 million.
It’s certainly something to ponder now that news emerged Silver was reached out to be currently unknown owners. Did the overtures happen during this window that resulted in Jones’ fine? – K.D. Drummond
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