Normally, I pay little attention to the talking heads on television. Especially when they are Giants or Jets fans.
Seriously, those guys need help.
But I was skimming through some videos online and came upon something I had missed five months ago.
In my defense, I wasn’t paying attention to football after the Cowboys’ 2023 season imploded. So I didn’t hear about this statement until now.
Apparently, FS1’s Craig Carton – who I had never heard of until yesterday – posited the theory about why Jerry Jones isn’t extending contracts on his star players.
He thinks it’s because Jones is going to sell the team in the next two years.
In the business world, that’s a sure sign a company is going to be on the blocks. Salaries are cut, along with other moves to make the business more appealing.
I’m not sure that quite holds true for sports franchises – especially one that is the most valuable in the NFL – but I see where he’s going.
Not that I agree with his reasoning.
But still, he may be onto something here.
Is Jones Seeking An Exit?
Jones bought the team for $140 million back in 1989. Forbes lists today’s value of the franchise at $9 billion. That’s a nice, tidy return on the investment.
And he’s proven that the product on the field can be substandard and still increase the value of the franchise over a long period of time.
Hello Dave Campo years…
I would imagine several investment groups would line up outside The Star in Frisco the instant a “For Sale” sign went up.
Financially, it might even make sense to sell after the season. The Cowboys – and the NFL – are clearly at their peak.
Would the team be even more appealing if it wasn’t dealing with cap issues? Maybe.
And it might make it easier for new ownership to put their own stamp on the team if most of the top-heavy contracts were gone.
With solid drafts and free agency, they could be competitive fairly quickly.
As I’ve mentioned before, he was the owner of record for three of the franchise’s five Super Bowl victories. That’s a nice, tidy bed of laurels for him to rest upon.
However, he has been trying for nearly three decades to prove – without any success – that he could build a championship-winning team on his own.
After 30 years, is he ready to throw in the towel and give up the chase?
Only Jones knows the answer to that.
Should Jones Be Looking For An Exit?
That’s the question, isn’t it?
It’s not like anyone is going to be able to force him out. His family seems content to rule the roost in Frisco – sans another Lombardi trophy.
The fans – and the pundits – can’t exactly storm The Star with torches and pitchforks in hand and run him off.
Dangit.
I don’t see the Governor of Texas ordering the Texas Rangers – the lawmen, not the baseball team – to run him off back to Arkansas either.
While Eminent domain might have been used to help clear the way for AT&T Stadium’s construction, just try it with an NFL franchise.
We’d be well into the 22nd Century before the dust from all the resulting law-fare settled. So Jones isn’t going to get forced out.
Especially as he survived the 1957 Little Rock photo.
Not to mention his attempted coup of Roger Goodell a few years back.
If the NFL didn’t show him the door after all that – especially the way the knives came out for Dan Snyder – I don’t know when they would at all.
Win Or Lose
The only way Carton’s prediction happens is if Jones decides his reign of terrorownership is over and that on his own terms.
There’s really three possible outcomes at the end of the season:
First: We get a repeat of the last 28 seasons.
Dallas plays the regular season, either missing the playoffs or suffering an early round exit again. Jones shrugs, says “we’re all in” for next year.
Making the 2024 season basically just another wash, rinse, repeat year that we’ve all become accustomed to.
Second: The Cowboys shock the world – especially me – and run the table.
Goodell has to hand Jones the Lombardi Trophy for the first time. Jones gets to gloat about it for a while, sells the team, then hightails it out of Dallas on a high note.
Third: The Cowboys have the kind of season most people are expecting – likely missing the playoffs and possibly a losing season at that.
The Big Three – Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons – don’t get extended and hit the market. Jones says enough is enough and sells the team.
Frankly, I don’t think we’re that lucky. We’re probably doomed to suffer a few more years of Jerry Jones, followed by another decade of Stephen Jones as owner.
How about them Cowboys, amirite?