Why won’t Jerry Jones donate to Arkansas Razorbacks' NIL fund?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a product of the University of Arkansas. He grew up in Little Rock and played football for the Arkansas Razorbacks in college during their 1964 National Championship run.

Now, the billionaire Cowboys owner often attends games to cheer on his alma mater, and makes charitable donations to the school. His home for the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, is even used to host the annual Southwest Classic game against Texas A&M. However, Jones will not be donating to the Razorbacks' NIL fund.

Why Jerry Jones won’t donate to Arkansas Razorbacks' NIL fund

Jones recently attended Arkansas' home game against the University of Texas, which the Razorbacks lost 20-10. During an interview on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Jones' son and Cowboys COO Stephen Jones was asked if they ever thought of “tipping the scales” on Arkansas' SEC rivalry with Texas by donating money to Arkansas’ NIL fund.

Considering Jones' wealth and business success, he could certainly be capable of contributing some serious NIL money. Celebrities and others have been doing so, one of the latest being Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, who helped the Michigan Wolverines with an offer of $10.5 million to high school prospect, quarterback Bryce Underwood.

However, it looks like the Jones family giving money to Arkansas' NIL fund is simply never going to happen. Stephen Jones explained why.

“Well, we’ve got our own payroll, as you know keeps us busy, and I don’t know that we need to add an NIL to it,” Jones said. “The other thing is, the NFL certainly has rules on the football side of things that really keep a finger on what an NFL owner can do in terms of NIL, which, of course, as you know, would make sense. You’ve got to come through college to the NFL. They keep a close eye on that and it’s really difficult to get involved in, in that aspect of it as an NFL owner.”