NFL Owners Officially Threaten Jerry Jones By Accusing Him Of ‘Conduct Detrimental To The League’

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Things are starting to get real heated between Jerry Jones and the other NFL owners during Roger Goodell’s contract negotiations. On Wednesday, NFL owners have officially taken the first step in potentially levying penalties on Jones when they sent his lawyer a letter accusing the Cowboys owner of “conduct detrimental to the league’s best interests’

Via The New York Times.

Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys’ owner, was told by his fellow owners that his “antics” were damaging the N.F.L. and reflecting “conduct detrimental to the league’s best interests,” another sign that the feud between Jones and his colleagues is not abating.

The comments, made in a letter sent to Jones’s lawyer, David Boies, and copied to the rest of the league’s owners, came a day after Jones said that he had no intention of backing down from his efforts to delay a contract extension for Commissioner Roger Goodell.

By including an accusation that Jones’s actions amounted to “conduct detrimental to the league,” the owners signaled that they were not ruling out pushing for sanctions against Jones.

On Sunday, it was reported that several owners had discussed the possibility of forcing Jones to sell the Cowboys if he continues to meddle with Goodell’s contract negotiations.

Via Pro Football Talk

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.

Jones has gone on record to say that the idea of the owners forcing him to sell the Cowboys is “laughable” but it appears that shit might go down if he keeps pissing them off.

Jorge Alonso BroBible avatar
Brobible sports editor. Jorge is a Miami native and lifelong Heat fan. He has been covering the NBA, MLB and NFL professionally for almost 10 years, specializing in digital media.