“I Had Danced With the Devil to Buy the Cowboys”: Jerry Jones Reflects on His Immense Struggle to Glory in the NFL

The Dallas Cowboys are legitimate Super Bowl title contenders this NFL season. After their win over divisional rivals, NY Giants, Jerry Jones’ men sit comfortably on their way to the playoffs. However, it wasn’t all roses and strawberries for Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.

In a recent interview, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Cowboys listed the struggles he went through to acquire the football franchise. Today, the cowboys are the most expensive franchise in the NFL, valued at a record $8 billion. However, it took many years for Jones and Dallas to reach this new height.

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Ever since Jerry Jones joined the league, he has been the root figure in the magnanimous rise of sponsorships and marketing in the NFL. Jerry Jones became the owner of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 and won three Super Bowls in his first decade.

However, for the next 26 years, the club saw no championships coming home. And finally this season, the Cowboys are making people hopeful. Jones maintains a hectic schedule and spoke to Forbes in his helicopter on the way to the Cowboys and New York Giants fixture.

How did Jerry Jones turn the Cowboys around?

Jerry Jones’ first choice wasn’t the Dallas Cowboys as he had made an attempt to buy the San Diego Chargers 20 years prior. When Jones came on for the Cowboys, the franchise was in an extremely dire state. The team hadn’t won a championship in almost 20 years. In addition, the franchise was not making any money and losses amounted to more than a million per month.

However, it was Jerry Jones and his staunch determination that ultimately turned things around. Jerry understood football from his days as an offensive lineman at the University of Arkansas and decided to use his oil and gas fortune to fulfill an old dream. And not just the oil and gas money, owing to technical complications in his business deals, Jerry even had to sell multiple assets and borrowed heavily during this period. This took a severe toll on Jones and only subsided when the First City of Houston loaned him $100 million.

“I had danced with the devil to buy the Cowboys and it was scary. When I [got the loan], I celebrated because I had all the money back home,” the 80-year-old said. However, Jerry Jones completely changed the culture of the Cowboys and stopped the financial losses. Ticket sales soared, and unnecessary expenses were curtailed. This included the firing of former head coach Tom Landry.

Dak Prescott and Jones’ 3-8 Cowboys face the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday after their 28-20 win over the Giants.

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