Although more people are interested in the Sunday Ticket experience, coverage is still lacking. And what we get makes us want more.
Consider this. Yesterday, Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones testified in the ongoing 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 has taken the stand as a witness, and it’s nearly impossible to find anything more than a single quote from his testimony.
But the quote is doozy.
Quick background note. From time to time, I will explain the consequences of the NFL losing its broadcast antitrust exemption. If that happens, teams would sell the rights to their home games individually, as Notre Dame does. In discussing this scenario, I will explain that the Cowboys would receive several billion per year for their games. Instead of naming bands at the other end of the spectrum, I usually say: “They know who they are.”
Jerry has an opinion about who is one of them. In defense of the streaming model despite the fact that he would benefit greatly from it, Jones sent his stray in the direction of Cincinnati.
“I am convinced I would make a lot more money than the BengalsJones said, via the Associated Press. “I’m completely against any team doing TV deals. It’s shameful.”
While Jones is accurate, given the enormous value of the Cowboys’ package alone, it wasn’t necessary to highlight the Bengals. He could only say: “Any other team.”
His choice of Bengalis was neither random nor accidental. Jones and Bengals owner Mike Brown have a long-running dispute over revenue sharing. As the NFL legend tells it, Jones and Brown once got into a heated argument during an ownership meeting over the Browns’ refusal to sell the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium.
Of course, times have changed since then. The Bengals have become a borderline force, appearing in two of their last three conference championship games while the Cowboys have appeared exactly the same no one Of the last 28.
Jones may also have been motivated by a desire to appear brave, as he chose the team owned by the man with whom he had quarreled over the sharing of money to illustrate that there was a limit to Jones’ greed.
But this underscores a larger point. Television revenue sharing has always relied on Globtrettor-level club owners willingly handing over TV money to the league’s Washington Generals. As franchise values skyrocket, and as it becomes more difficult to find people with the money to buy teams, the next generation of owners may not want to share the television revenue. Likewise, private equity firms that may soon buy parts of NFL clubs may start pushing for a different model if they believe they will get a better return on their investment if the rights are sold not by the league, but by the teams.
Jones is scheduled to return to the stand on Tuesday. We’ll keep looking for anything/everything interesting he might have to say. Hopefully it will avoid use Certain phrases In the presence of the arbitration committee.
Let me review that. Hopefully, he will.
