Two of the highest-profile American sports owners run their teams in Texas, where everything that’s bigger includes the egos of business moguls. But there seems to be no negativity between Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Cuban recently expressed excitement and praise for Jones, as he prepares to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Hopefully I emulate all this,” Cuban said, “Jerry had two goals: One, to be successful in business and he knew he had to sell, and two, to win. And when you’re trying to be successful usually someone’s not going to take kindly to the way you do it. Jerry’s always been a great salesperson and he set the example if you want to be successful it doesn’t hurt to eat, sleep and breathe your company. He’s done that and he does that to this day.”
That’s significant, given Cuban’s failed effort to back the long-dead UFL and his “pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered” forecast for the grab-every-dollar NFL. But despite the flaws of pro football, Jones has been a huge part of what has made it continuously greater and greater since he bought the Cowboys in 1989. Jerry’s passion to make his franchise a success forced recalcitrant old-school owners to buy in, despite their desire to not fix things they deemed to be unbroken.
Even if something is working well, it can always be made to work better. Jones used business acumen to make that happen. Along the way he won three championships. Which is more than most owners can say, in any sport.