The NFL now plans to order Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to pay millions of dollars for his actions last year related to the his efforts to derail Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract extension and for his outspoken defence of a star player Ezekiel Elliott, who was suspended, as per several people with direct knowledge with the league’s inner workings.
Goodell will issue the punishment in the coming weeks. He will also declare that Jone’s actions were detrimental to the league. Jones was earlier warned by the compensation committee that he was guilty of his detrimental actions to the league after his failed efforts to derail Goodell’s contract extension from getting completed.
The league did not immediately respond back to the request to comment on the matter and the Dallas Cowboys refused to comment via a spokesperson. The New Tork Times had initially reported about NFL’s intention to penalize Jones to pay millions of dollars.
In the month of November, Jones had hired high-profile attorney David Boies and threatened that he was prepared to sue six owners of the league’s compensation committee, which had been working since several months for Goodwell’s contract extension. Jones also lobbied loudly in defence of Ezekiel Elliott for not penalizing him and reportedly tried to influence the league officials who were deciding his case. Reportedly, after the NFL investigated domestic-assault allegations, Elliot had been suspended by the league for six games this past season.
Jones will be ordered to pay the legal fees that the league’s compensation committee incurred while defending itself and he will also have to pay for the NFL for the legal expenses it incurred while defending its decision to suspend Elliott.
After Goodell’s extension was completed at the owner’s meet held in December in Dallas, Jones said that he would continue to press for changes to happen in the league’s constitution.
