Business & Science
Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones transformed the Dallas Cowboys after buying the franchise in 1989, combining three Super Bowl championships with an aggressive stadium, media, sponsorship and league-business strategy.
- Roster rank
- #155
- Category
- Business & Science
- Subject type
- Person
- Profile source
- Published Texas Icons profile
Texas story
Life and career
Jerry Jones was born in Los Angeles and raised primarily in Arkansas, where he played football at the University of Arkansas. His Texas identity begins with the Dallas Cowboys: in February 1989 he purchased the team and Texas Stadium interests for roughly $140 million.
Jones serves as owner, president and general manager. The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, while Jones also became influential in sponsorship, broadcasting and stadium economics. His Hall of Fame case rests as much on changing the business of an NFL franchise as on the championship years.
Defining work
What to know
- 1989 Dallas Cowboys purchase
- three Super Bowl championships
- AT&T Stadium era
- 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame
Timeline
Key milestones
- 1989Purchases the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Stadium interests.
- 1993Cowboys win the first of three Super Bowls under Jones ownership.
- 2009Cowboys open their new Arlington stadium.
- 2017Jones is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Texas connections
Places in the story
Core market of Jones's Cowboys ownership.
Home of the Cowboys' stadium since 2009.
Legacy
Why the story lasts
Jones turned the Cowboys into one of the world's most commercially prominent sports franchises.
His Texas significance comes from decades of ownership and league influence, not birthplace.
Sources
Research trail
Cross-linked profiles