Time for more popcorn.
The entertaining Roger & Jerry Show is back.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spent much of last year unsuccessfully trying to convince his fellow owners to delay commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract extension, but Goodell had the majority of the owners on his side.
Jones also was upset with the six-game suspension of Ezekiel Elliott, although his son, Stephen, said the Cowboys were only “observers’’ in that process. Not that Jerry Jones is noted for observing. He likes to be in the middle of the action.
Still, Goodell won on both counts. The NFL won the court fight and Elliott served his suspension and Goodell got his contract extension.
It seemed to be over except that Goodell decided to strike back at Jones. So much for letting wounds heal and moving on.
Goodell is attempting to get Jones to reimburse the league for $2 million or more in legal fees they spent fighting Jones.
This action shows that Jones was right about Goodell. He continues to be a great example of the Peter Principle as an NFL commissioner. He continues to shoot himself in the foot.
Why would Goodell continue to harm the image of the league by continuing the fight with one of his owners?
And all over $2 million or more.
Two million is pocket change for the NFL billionaires. They pay Goodell more than that every month. They let their head coaches hire in the range of 20 assistants and write the checks to pay them.
And did Goodell actually think that Jones was going to write him a check without a fight?
Not surprisingly, The Washington Post reported that Jones is going to appeal.
Goodell apparently will hear the appeal. You know how that will go.
But does Goodell really think that Jones will say, ‘Oh I lost the appeal, time to write a check!”?
It remains to be seen what Jones will do after the appeal, but it would be no surprise if he files a lawsuit, which he threatened to do during the debate about Goodell’s extension.
You would think Goodell would have more pressing things to worry about like the declining TV ratings, including for the Super Bowl. Or the upcoming fight with the players, who are upset about his draconian rulings on player discipline and the fact the owners got the upper hand in the last contract.
Meanwhile, Goodell will likely continue to be booed by the fans every time he appears in public. And will he actually announce the picks from the podium in Dallas at the NFL draft in April? Imagine the reception he will get.
Still, it’s always fun to watch the NFL go public with its internal fights.
Goodell made sure the show will go on.