Could Jerry Jones Be The Next Pro Football Hall-of-Famer?

The Cowboys may not be the most decorated team, but Jones made his mark on the NFL.

By Michael MarksAugust 16, 2016 11:29 am

Today in Canton, Ohio, members of the football intelligentsia will discuss who should be next to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys’ owner, is said to be on the short list.

Jones is reportedly one of 10 people who could be inducted as a contributor – someone who didn’t play or coach, but made a significant impact another way.

Tim Griffin, sports reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, says that although the Cowboys may not be the most talented team – especially in the past several years – Jones had a big role in shaping the NFL as we know it today.

“I would probably say that Jerry Jones has been maybe the most influential owner in the last 30 years or so in the NFL,” Griffin says. “He kind of took the NFL kicking and screaming into a new era of financial explosion, where they really took off and made a lot of money.”

He says that Jones modernized the NFL into the multi-billion-dollar organization it is today.

“He was a wild cat, very much like his oilman background,” Griffin says. “Jones saw the marketing opportunities of what an NFL team could do, not only on a national stage but worldwide, and he really went out and thrust it.”