NFL Sends Threatening Letter to Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, prior to Super Bowl 51 between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 5, 2017. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The NFL sent a letter to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, accusing the billionaire of “conduct detrimental to the league’s best interests” over his objection to a contract extension for commissioner Roger Goodell, it was reported.

In the letter, published by CNBC, the NFL says Jones’ “antics, whatever their motivation, are damaging the League and reflect conduct detrimental to the League’s best interests.”

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The letter, which was written by outside counsel for the NFL’s compensation committee, was sent to Jones’ lawyer, David Boies, and to the rest of the league’s owners, according to the New York Times.

According to ESPN, Jones reportedly objected to Goodell’s contract extension, which the committee has been reviewing, for several reasons, namely the commissioner’s decision to suspend Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games for alleged domestic violence.

Jones has said that his objections have to do with Goodell’s compensation, and how the national anthem protests were handled by the league.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Here is the letter, as published by CNBC:

Your November letter is yet another effort by your client to disregard and deliberately interfere with the May 2017 Resolution, unanimously adopted by the owners (including your client), which expressly approved a contract extension with Commissioner Goodell and further authorized the Compensation Committee to finalize the terms of that extension.

As your client knows, having served as an ad hoc, non-voting member of the Compensation Committee until November 4, 2017, when he was removed for threatening, in bad faith, to sue the League and the voting members of the Committee, the Committee has been working diligently, and in good faith, for six months to negotiate and conclude a contract extension pursuant to its mandate under the Resolution. The League’s ownership has been and will continue to be fully apprised of the Committee’s work, as the Committee Chairman reaffirmed on Monday.

With that context, there is no legitimate basis for Mr. Jones to circulate to the full ownership a three-month-old document from a consultant to the Committee - a document that Mr. Jones personally knows to be an outdated, historical artifact of no relevance whatsoever in the context of these lengthy negotiations. Nor is there any legitimate basis for Mr. Jones to persists, as he did yesterday, in publicly threatening to file a lawsuit if the Commissioner is granted an extension. Someone who is genuinely concerned “that the owners know the truth about the negotiations” would not deliberately distribute such an outdated document, particularly when he has in his possession drafts that are current and accurately reflect the actual state of negotiations, or threaten to sue the League and its owners if he does not get his way.

With due respect, we urge Mr. Jones to drop his misguided litigation threats and media campaign to undermine the Committee’s mandate. We urge Mr. Jones to honor the resolution that he and his fellow owners adopted and allow the Committee to continue this work, in compliance with the May 2017 Resolution and the League Constitution. And we urge Mr. Jones to support the Committee’s deliberations, not attempt to sabotage them.

Your client’s antics, whatever their motivation, are damaging the League and reflect conduct detrimental to the League’s best interests.

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