The NFL Owners Reportedly Have A Plan In Place To Force Jerry Jones To Sell The Cowboys If Jones Becomes A Problem For Them
PFT- When it comes to the lingering dispute regarding the Roger Goodell contract extension, much has been written and said about the potential nuclear option possessed by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. But the rest of the owners (or, more accurately, those who oppose Jones) have a nuclear option of their own. They could, in theory, attempt to trigger forfeiture of the Dallas franchise.
A league source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that multiple owners already have been discussing the possibility, which flows from Article VIII of the NFL’s Constitution & Bylaws. Specifically, Section 8.13 authorizes the Commissioner to determine that an owner “has been or is guilty of conduct detrimental to the welfare of the League or professional football.” If the Commissioner believes the available sanction (a $500,000 fine) is “not adequate or sufficient,” the Commissioner may refer the issue to the NFL’s Executive Committee, which has the power to compel “[c]ancellation or forfeiture of the franchise in the League of any member club involved or implicated,” with a directive to sell the team.
It’s obviously an extreme outcome, and it surely would trigger years of litigation. But the possibility has emerged primarily because Jones has opted to take family business outside the family. As the source explained it, the primary affront comes from the belief among owners that Jones instigated Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter to disparage the NFL, blaming league leadership for ratings declines and, in turn, a reduction in Papa John’s revenues. It’s unknown whether the NFL or any of its owners has warned Jones of a potential attack on his ownership of the Cowboys, and at this point it’s unlikely that any such effort will be made. However, the topic has emerged among owners, due directly to Jones’ recent threats of litigation and related efforts to disrupt the business of the league.
Tse tse fly! TSE TSE FLY! TSEEEEE TSEEEEE FLYYYYYYY!!!!!! I know we always talk about how great it is for sports when historically hated franchises are competitive and in the playoff race. The Yankees, the Cowboys, Notre Dame, Duke. Basically all the teams LeBron probably rooted for while growing up. Same goes for owners like Jerry Jones and, when he was alive, George Steinbrenner. Villains make sports better. That’s just a fact.
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But let me say on the record that I fully support these owners shooting Jerry Jones straight into the sun in the name of The Shield if ol’ Jerruh gets out of line in his quest to take down to Roger The Dodger because he lost his little running back for 6 games. Especially now that Jones seems to have figured out how to field at least a competitive team year in and year out instead of putting the franchise in the hands of people like Quincy Carter. Plus lets be honest, nothing beats a good old fashioned billionaire legal brouhaha. Old, angry rich guys plotting on each other like they are in Game of Thrones helps keep the lights on for blogs around this great country of ours. And if any of those emails leak, that’s what we call a jackpot in the blog game.
The best part about all this is the mere thought of Cowboys fans losing their team’s brash, dickhead owner. KFC made sure to point out every awful type of Yankees fan during their run in October. But since KFC is a Jets fan, he has no idea just how bad Cowboys fans are. They are just like Yankees fans but with less chains, more earrings and somehow just as big a cocky sports persona despite their team never making it past the divisional round this century. At least Yankees fans have a few championship videos that were initially released on DVD. Cowboys championship videos went straight to VHS when Troy, Emmitt, Michael, and the White House gang were winning their Super Bowl titles. Again, I’m sure all that talk about rings when none of us were alive would still be the rallying call for a good chunk of those fans that have never stepped foot in the state of Texas that liked the Boys because “The star looked cool when I was growing up” or “I liked watching them on Thanksgiving”. But much like the Mind Flayer, if you take out the head (Jerry), all the shitty little henchmen creatures will scurry away and die with it. I wouldn’t miss Cowboys fans even a little bit. I could learn to take that hate and focus it towards Eagles fans and whatever the hater du jour team is at the moment.
Okay you know what. I have to admit that I would miss Jerruh at least a little bit. You can’t easily replace a cartoon character Texas billionaire for the most unlikable team in a league like the NFL.
