COWBOYS
Jerry Jones singles out Bengals during Sunday Ticket trial
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is testifying this week during the Sunday Ticket trial and interestingly singled out Cincinnati to make a point.
The ongoing Sunday Ticket trial called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to the witness stand on Monday. Jerry Jones, as usual, has made an off-hand comment that’s caught our attention.
What is the Sunday Ticket trial?
The class-action lawsuit claims that the NFL broke antitrust laws by selling its package of out-of-market Sunday games at an inflated price, and now 2.4 million subscribers and 48,000 businesses are seeking up to $7 billion in damages.
The league insists that they have the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under the antitrust exemption for broadcasting, but the argument is that only over-the-air broadcasts are covered in the exemption. If the NFL is found liable, the jury could not only award the $7 billion in damages, but it could actually triple to $21 billion due to federal rules.
If the NFL were to lose this antitrust exemption, then each team would sell the rights to its home games individually.
What did Jerry Jones say about the Bengals at the Sunday Ticket trial?
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the most influential names in the NFL. The Cowboys are the league’s most valuable franchise, so as you can imagine, they would be an example of a team that would do quite well if media rights revenue were split evenly. Other teams, however, would not do so well.
In fact, while there are several teams who would pale in comparison to the Cowboys, Jones found it necessary to point out one in particular.
“I am convinced I would make a lot more money than the Bengals,” Jones said. “I’m completely against each team doing TV deals. It is flawed.”
The Bengals are certainly not the only team who would earn less money than the Cowboys in this scenario, but they are a team that Jones has history with. Bengals owner Mike Brown and Jones once got into an argument when Brown refused to sell the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium. That could have something to do with why Jones chose them to single out.
Jones will take to the stand again on Tuesday as the Sunday Ticket trial continues.