Even though more people are paying attention to Sunday ticket checking, the coverage is still limited. And what we get makes us want more.
Consider this. Yesterday, Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones testified at the Sunday ticket trial. Jerry Freaking Jones. One of the most influential figures in league history and one of the most powerful owners in all of sports took the witness stand, and it was nearly impossible to find more than one quote from his testimony.
But the quote is a disappointment.
A quick background note. I will periodically explain the consequences of the NFL losing its broadcast antitrust exemption. If that ever happens, teams will sell the rights to their own games individually, as Notre Dame did. In discussing that scene, I explain that the Cowboys get billions a year for its games. Instead of naming teams at the other end of the spectrum, I usually say, “They know who they are.”
Jerry has an idea who one of them is. In defending the broadcast model, Jones strayed in Cincinnati’s direction.
“I’m sure I earn more money than BengalisJones said, via the Associated Press. “I’m totally against every team doing TV deals. It’s flawed.”
Even if Jones is accurate, singling out the Bengals is unnecessary given the immense value of the Cowboys-only package. “Any other team,” he might have said.
His choice of Bengal was not accidental or coincidental. Jones and Bengals owner Mike Brown have long feuded over revenue sharing. As the NFL legend tells it, Jones and Brown once got into a heated argument at a rights meeting because Brown refused to sell the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium.
Of course, times have changed since then. The Bengals have become a borderline powerhouse, with the Cowboys appearing right in two of the last three conference championship games. nothing In the last 28
Jones may have been motivated by a desire to appear magnanimous by choosing a team owned by a man he fought over sharing the money to show that his greed had limits.
But it underscores a larger point. TV revenue sharing has always relied on owners of globetrotter-level clubs willingly handing over TV money to the league’s Washington Generals. As franchise values rise and it becomes harder and harder to find people with the money to buy teams, the next generation of owners may not want to share TV revenue. Likewise, private-equity firms that may soon buy NFL clubs may start pushing for a different model if they believe they’ll get a better return on their investment if rights are sold through the teams, not the league.
Jones will return to the stand on Tuesday. We will continue to look for anything/everything of interest he might have to say. Hopefully he will refrain from using it A few phrases In the presence of a jury.
I will edit it. Hopefully, he will.
