Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told fellow owners he’s ready to sue them if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s new contract goes forward, and those owners were stunned to hear it.
That’s the word from Peter King of SI.com, who reports that Jones told the six owners on the NFL’s Compensation Committee that he’s ready to take the matter to court.
“Are you telling us you’re prepared to file litigation against us?” Giants owner John Mara asked. Jones replied that he was.
According to King, that “shocked” the owners who were on the call with Jones, none of whom expected Jones to take such a serious step.
“I’m shocked. I’m disappointed. We may have differences, Jerry, but this is not the way we resolve them. This is not the way we do things in the NFL,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank told Jones.
A source told King that owners on the call with Jones came away from it “Totally shocked. Emotional. Angry. In disbelief.” Even Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who felt that Goodell gave his team a raw deal in the Deflategate case, told Jones that league unity is more important.
Jones is obviously angry at Goodell for suspending Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. He has also indicated that he thinks Goodell should have found a way for the NFL to put the national anthem controversy behind it, and Jones may have put up Papa John’s, a big-time NFL sponsor that Jones does business with, to express that publicly. And Jones reportedly thinks Goodell is overpaid.
King’s story indicates that Jones currently doesn’t have many allies among his fellow owners. But threatening to sue may buy Jones some time to see if he can persuade other owners that Goodell hasn’t earned a lucrative new contract.