Jerry Jones Cut A $10 Million Check In Front Of Arkansas Boosters That Won’t Help A Bad Football Team

iStockphoto / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Jerry Jones donated $10 million to charity, and not Arkansas football.


Jerry Jones was on hand Monday night at a Little Rock Touchdown Club event in Arkansas. The Dallas Cowboys owner cut a $10 million check for charity.

Many wondered why he didn’t donate to the Razorbacks‘ NIL fund. The Hogs could definitely use it!

Arkansas has been a bad football team under first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield. They’ve gone 2-4 through six games, dropping all three of their SEC contests.

The Razorbacks went 2-10 last year and fired Sam Pittman midseason. Silverfield has been unable to produce a quick turnaround.

The team has not beaten a Power 4 opponent this year. It’s been embarrassed by Utah, Georgia, and Texas A&M. While the Hogs did hang in with Tennessee last Saturday, they ultimately fell 24-17.

Fans have grown tired of losing. The Razorbacks are riding a 14-game SEC skid. They’ll look to end that streak next weekend against Vanderbilt. Maybe it will provide some momentum for the future.

Arkansas football fans are turning.

The team was beaten handily, 43-10, by Utah in its first road game. The Utes apparently knew the plays before each snap. Arkansas’s offense was tipping signals. It made for a long night.

Fans responded by not showing up the following week to watch the poor product in a loss to Georgia. Two weeks later, the Hogs were blown out by the rival Aggies. Recruits are starting to take note.

Darion Moseley decommitted from the Hogs amid the rough start, citing performance in his reasoning for leaving.

“We shouldn’t look like this to a Big 12 team. I don’t care what you say. I hope they know that’s not okay… We’re fourth-year, fifth-year seniors and we’re not able to break tackles. We’ve got our quarterback missing throws that he should be making and we’re not doing what we need to do.”

Things continue to spiral.

Everyone is in agreement on one thing. Arkansas football fans want athletic director Hunter Yurachek fired. They’ve organized protests and even devised a diabolical plan for the 2026 campaign to speed up the process.

The Razorbacks have seen success in other sports, but football is king in the SEC. Yurachek is yet to find the right coach. Silverfield’s hiring was met with immediate backlash. The poor start isn’t helping.

With that said, there is one great equalizer in college sports – NIL money. Arkansas has plenty of it, just ask John Calipari.

The school’s top boosters include Walmart, Tyson Foods, and JB Hunt. There is money to go around, and it would help with recruiting efforts and roster retention.

Jerry Jones is also a supporter and former Arkansas football player. He wrote a $10 million check in front of boosters Monday night. To their disappointment, it will not help the football team.

Why won’t Jerry Jones give NIL money to Arkansas football?

Jones donated $10 million to the Clinton Foundation at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. The club is “a place where fans, players, and legends come together to celebrate the game we love.” It works to honor Arkansas football legends. It also brings in weekly speakers to include former players, coaches, and businessmen.

Bill Clinton and Jerry Jones were scheduled for Monday. Attendees were reportedly shocked that Jones didn’t give money to be used for NIL.

There are rules, however, that prevent Jones from donating to the Arkansas football fund. The NFL has guardrails as to how owners can support college programs.

Jones’s son, Stephen, opened up on the restrictions a few years back.

“We’ve got our own payroll, as you know, that keeps us busy, and I don’t know that we need to add any NIL to it,” he started when asked about bankrolling Arkansas football.

“The other thing is, the NFL certainly has rules on the football side of things that really keep a finger on what an NFL owner can do in terms of NIL, which, of course, as you know, would make sense. You’ve got to come through college to the NFL. They keep a close eye on that and it’s really difficult to get involved in in that aspect of it as an NFL owner.”

Simply put, Jerry Jones is not allowed to support Arkansas’s NIL fund. He can give money in other ways, which he and his family have done in the past.

His latest $10 million gift will go to charity. It will not help the Razorbacks. There couldn’t have been a worse possible location for the announcement given the large presence of Arkansas boosters.

It was another punch in the gut to supporters who are in desperate need of a win.