Dallas Cowboys Owner: Who is Jerry Jones?

Jerry Jones is the owner of NFL team the Dallas Cowboys.

Jones is an American billionaire who has held the roles of owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys since 1989.

Who is the owner of Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones?

The Dallas Cowboys might have the most well-known owner in all of professional team sports. The NFL team is actually owned by Jerry Jones, who is one of the most easily seen and reachable owners in the league.

Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million. In 2018, Forbes valued the franchise at $4.8 billion, potentially earning Jones and his family a substantial sum if they decide to sell. Jones had prior football experience, playing for the University of Arkansas and even co-captaining the National Championship-winning team in 1965. Interestingly, one of his teammates was Jimmy Johnson, whom he later hired as the Dallas Cowboys’ coach.

Following his college football days, Jones ventured into business and achieved great success in the oil industry during the 1970s and 1980s. He excelled by discovering oil in areas that were not initially seen as prime spots, a strategy known as “wildcatting.” This lucrative practice made Jones very rich and positioned him as a potential buyer for an NFL team.

After Jones purchased the team, he wasted no time leaving his mark. Almost immediately, he removed the legendary Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry from his position and brought in Johnson, hoping to recreate the success of the Razorbacks teams from two decades earlier. Johnson’s first season was very challenging, with the team going 1-15. Their top pick, Troy Aikman, struggled as a starter, going 0-11 with 18 interceptions and only 9 touchdown passes. However, the team’s fortunes quickly turned around as they won consecutive Super Bowl titles in 1992 and 1993. It seemed like the team was set to dominate the rest of the decade with a young core that included Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and a highly skilled offensive line. Unfortunately, a disagreement between Johnson and Jones led to Johnson’s departure before the 1994 season.

The two men frequently argued about their roles in the team’s success, with Jones once saying that there were many NFL coaches who could have taken the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl. Jones replaced Johnson with Barry Switzer, who had strong ties to the University of Arkansas football program. Switzer assumed control in 1994 and, although he couldn’t win a championship that year, he did lead the Dallas Cowboys in 1995 when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, concluding an impressive four-year period.

At 78 years old, Jones has included his family in managing the Dallas Cowboys. His son Stephen holds the role of Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President and serves as the Player Personnel Director, as stated on the Dallas Cowboys’ website. Stephen plays a significant part in building the team and making decisions about signing new players or extending contracts for existing ones.

In the unique 2020 NFL Draft, Jerry drew attention by using his $250 million yacht as his central command during the event. This revealed that a standard draft war room might not be the best place to make game-changing decisions for the franchise after all.