Jerry Jones

Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved back to North Little Rock, Arkansas in 1945.[3] Jones' father J.W. "Pat" Jones (1920–1997) and mother Arminta Pearl Clark Jones (1922–2012) married in 1941.[4] They owned two branches of Pat's Super Market in the Rose City neighborhood of North Little Rock.[5] Jones was a running back at North Little Rock High School, graduating in 1960.

After his graduation, Jones' parents moved to Springfield, Missouri, where Pat was president and chairman of Modern Security Life Insurance Co. The company, which an advertisement billed as a "one in a million" company, saw its assets increase from $440,299.76 in its first statement in 1961 to $6,230,607 in 1965. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, Jerral W. Jones was listed as an executive vice president.[6] With the success of the company, the Joneses assembled the 5,500-acre Buena Vista Ranch east of Springfield in Rogersville, Missouri in the Ozark Mountains. In 1971, after selling the insurance company, the couple carved out 400 acres of their ranch to start Buena Vista Animal Paradise, where tourists could visit exotic animals (now Wild Animal Safari in Strafford, Missouri, just south of Interstate 44).[4]

According to an interview with Jones on HBO, after graduating from college in 1965, he borrowed a million dollars from Jimmy Hoffa's Teamsters union to open up a string of Shakey's Pizza Parlor restaurants in Missouri. When that venture failed, Jones was given a job at his father's insurance company Modern Security Life of Springfield, Missouri. He received his master's degree in business in 1970. After several other unsuccessful business ventures (including an attempt, again using Teamsters money, to purchase the American Football League's San Diego Chargers in 1967), he began an oil and gas exploration business in Arkansas, Jones Oil and Land Lease, which became successful.[11] His privately held company currently does natural resource prospecting.

In 2008, Jones formed a partnership with Yankee Global Enterprises to create Legends Hospitality, a food, beverage, merchandise, retail and stadium operations corporation serving entertainment venues.[12]

On February 25, 1989, Jones purchased the Cowboys from H.R. "Bum" Bright for $140 million (equivalent to $292.5 million in 2020).[13] Soon after the purchase, he fired longtime coach Tom Landry, to that point the only coach in the team's history,[14] in favor of his old teammate at Arkansas, Jimmy Johnson.[8] A few months later, he fired longtime general manager Tex Schramm, and assumed complete control over football matters.[15]

After a slow start under Jones and Johnson (the first season under Jones, a 1–15 finish,[16] remains second only to the team's inaugural season in terms of futility),[17] Jones quickly built a team that is often reckoned to be the best NFL franchise of the 1990s. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVII in the 1992 season,[18] as well as Super Bowl XXVIII the following year in the 1993 season.[19] Johnson then departed and was replaced by Barry Switzer, who also went on to win Super Bowl XXX in the 1995 season.[20]

At the time of the sale, the financially troubled Bright claimed to be losing $1 million per month on the franchise.[21] During Jones' tenure, the Cowboys have appreciated in value to an estimated $4.2 billion, turning their owner into a billionaire in the process.[22] Much of the league's financial success since 1989 has been credited to Jones himself. In particular, he was decisive in securing Fox as the NFC's primary broadcaster at a time when the traditional "Big Three" networks were trying to convince the league into accepting a rollback in television rights fees.[23]

Increased television revenues have played a decisive role in securing the NFL's place as the world's richest sports league, with revenues of well over $10 billion per season.[24]

The 2018 NFL season was Jones' 30th as Cowboys owner - more than the number of seasons as the combined tenures of his predecessors.[25]

Criticism

GULFSTREAM G-V N1DC Dallas Cowboys owners personal plane at VNY

In an online poll from October 8, 2003, Jones was named the least favorite sports personality by Sports Illustrated, in three states (Virginia, Delaware and Texas).[26]

Jones is often vilified by fans who remain bitter at his unceremonious firings of long-time Cowboys personnel who were fan favorites, head coach Tom Landry and general manager Tex Schramm, even though the Cowboys had been doing poorly in the last few seasons before Jones became the team owner. Jones stated he did not give consideration to retaining Landry for even a season, as he said he would not have purchased the team unless he could hire Johnson as coach. Jones also did not discuss the matter beforehand with Landry before announcing the decision. This was denounced by football fans and media as totally lacking in class and respect, as pride and tradition were part of the Cowboys where great performance and loyal service were expected to be rewarded. Since the dismissal, Jones has indicated he regrets the process of Landry's firing and his role in it. It would later emerge that Jones' predecessor, Bright, had been dissatisfied with Landry for years and had even offered to relieve Jones of the inevitable criticism by dismissing the longtime coach himself prior to selling the team.[23] Bright had wanted to fire Landry as early as 1987, only to have Schramm tell him that there wasn't an available replacement.[27]

Some of the fan criticism is due to Jones' high visibility and involvement as the "face of the team",[28] a marked contrast to both Bright and the Cowboys' original owner, Clint Murchison Jr. Jones' prominent role has led to fans expressing their displeasure with Jones and the lack of success of the franchise, with particular criticism focusing on Jones' insistence on serving as his own general manager.[29] There was particular criticism of Jones over his conflict with head coach Jimmy Johnson, as Jones who was general manager "wanted Cowboys fans to know he had helped build those Super Bowl-winning teams", while "Johnson insisted that he made all of the personnel moves" since he had the final say in football matters and refused to relinquish this power; consequently Jones ousted Johnson after the 1993 season despite winning two consecutive Super Bowls and has refused to induct Johnson into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Jones also initially promised head coach Bill Parcells complete control over football matters, however their relationship broke down after Jones signed controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens. Parcell's successor as Cowboys head coach, Wade Phillips, had complained to friends about being "undermined and second-guessed, repeatedly" by Jones.[30]

Jones is one of two owners in the league (the other being Cincinnati's Mike Brown) who have either the title or powers of general manager. In 2018, he told Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Mark Lane that he believes serving as his own general manager helps streamline decision-making and communication lines between himself and the coaching staff.[31] Over the years of Jones's tenure, Cowboys fans have organized a number of grassroots efforts aimed at displacing Jones from his position.[32]

Jones is the subject of the 2008 book Playing to Win by David Magee. In the book, Jones admitted he handled the firing of Landry poorly and accepted some blame for the disintegration of his relationship with Landry's successor, Jimmy Johnson.

Jones became involved in the St. Louis Rams move back to Los Angeles with Stan Kroenke in 2016. He was instrumental in brokering a deal between Stan Kroenke, San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos, and Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis to ensure that Kroenke's SoFi Stadium plan passed which it did via a 30-2 owners vote in favor. Jones' support and role in the negotiations has been criticized by some fans and sports media in St. Louis.[33] Jerry Jones was also a supporter and key proponent of the Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas to play at Allegiant Stadium.[34]

Jones was the inspiration for the character Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn), owner of the Dallas Felons, in the 1998 film BASEketball. He had a brief cameo appearance as himself in the 1998 made-for-television reunion movie Dallas: War of the Ewings.

Jones also appeared as himself in a 1996 episode of the TV show Coach and in a 2007 television commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX, which also featured then Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo.

He appeared as himself in the seventh season of the HBO series Entourage in 2010, in an episode of the TNT incarnation of Dallas titled "Truth and Consequences", which aired on July 4, 2012, in a series of commercials for the 2012 season of ESPN's Monday Night Football, and in the season 4 premiere of The League. In 2013, Jones narrated a documentary film on former teammate and business partner Jim Lindsey.[38]

Jones also appears in a 2013 Pepsi commercial, walking into an elevator filled with three men wearing New York Giants apparel, who look at him with discontent.[39]

He was parodied on the first episode, "Go Fund Yourself", of the eighteenth season of South Park, along with several other NFL team owners. In one scene, Jones is depicted as having huge, bulging chameleon-like eyes, as a young woman's head pops up from his lap.[40] He reappears in the season 21 episode "Moss Piglets."

• 1964 FWAA College Football National Championship (as a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks)
• 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic champion
• 1964 Southwest Conference Champion
• 1961 Southwest Conference Champion
• Three-time Super Bowl champion - XXVII, XXVIII, XXX (as owner/president/GM of the Dallas Cowboys)
• 1993 Outstanding Team ESPY Award (as owner/president/GM of the Dallas Cowboys)
• 1993 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement[41]
• 2014 NFL Executive of the Year[42]
• 2010 NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Distinguished Texan Award[43]
• 2013 Horatio Alger Award[44]
• Ducks Unlimited (Arkansas branch) Jerry Jones Sportsmans Award named in his honor[45]
• Pro Football Hall of Fame (class of 2017)[46]

Jones is the son of J.W. "Pat" Jones and Arminta Jones. He is married to Eugenia "Gene" Jones, and they have three children: Stephen, Charlotte, and Jerry, Jr. Stephen (born June 21, 1964) serves as the Cowboys' chief operating officer/executive vice president/director of player personnel. Charlotte (born July 26, 1966) serves as the Cowboys' executive vice president and chief brand officer.[47] Jerry Jones Jr. is the Cowboys' chief sales and marketing officer/vice president. Jones owns a home in Destin, Florida.[48]

Jones revealed in July 2015 at press conference before Cowboys training camp that he had undergone hip replacement surgery, joking that he wouldn't start the season on the PUP list.[49]

As of December 2019, Jones' net worth is reported by Forbes to be $8.5 billion, the majority of which can be accounted for as being his ownership stake in the Cowboys who are currently valued by the same publication to be the world's most valuable sports team at $5 billion.

• Forbes profile