Jerry Jones Tried to Buy Chargers With Jimmy Hoffa’s Money

In the 1990s, Jerry Jones turned the Cowboys into an on-field juggernaut-winning three Super Bowls in four years-and an off-field colossus, becoming American sports' most valuable franchise.

He's famously failed to return to the promised land in the 30 years since, while the Dallas brand has only gotten bigger.

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A eight-part Netflix documentary debuting next Tuesday,America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, tells both those stories, offering plenty for viewers hoping to relive the Jimmy Johnson era roller coaster or get a peek inside the business rocket ship that has refused to come down.

When we came on as directors, we were immediately drawn to the intersection of Jerry Jones' rise as abusinessmanand owner in the NFL and the parallel arc of the Dallas Cowboys' dominance-and eventual decline-on the field,"America's Teamdirectors Chapman and Maclain Way said via email. The two stories felt inseparable."

Here are a few of the most compelling sports business angles covered in the show (which, I will admit, had me tearing up by the eighth and final episode's end credits).

Jerry Jones and Jimmy ... Hoffa?

In 1966, Jerry Jones was a 23-year-old hustling insurance salesman when he convinced then-San Diego Chargers owner Barron Hilton to sell control of the team for $5.8 million. Much of the money, Jones says, was set to come via a loan tied to Jimmy Hoffa's Teamsters' union, which had previously been backing Jones to run pizza shops in Missouri. There have been multiple explanations given in the past for why the deal fell apart, including the possibility that Jones was unable to put up the cash to hold onto exclusive negotiating rights.

In the Netflix show, Jones says his father disapproved of him going into the football business with Hoffa, but that Hoffa was intrigued. He basically said, We think we can be a part of being in professional sports,'" Jones recalled of his meeting with Hoffa.

Gene Klein would ultimately lead a $10 million takeover of the franchise, while Hoffa went to prison in 1967 for jury tampering and mail fraud. Hoffa disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1975. In 1989, Jones would buy the Dallas Cowboys for $140 million after finding success in oil and gas exploration.

Jerry Jones Lost $300,000 on a Coin Flip

Near the end of Jones' negotiations with previous Cowboys owner Bum Bright-who had largely been hands-off with the franchise-the two reportedly disagreed over who was responsible for a payment made while the deal was in its final stages. They agreed to flip for it. Jones lost and paid $300,000 on top of the purchase price.The Dallas Morning Newsreported that Bright later encased the coin and gave it to Jones, who has kept it framed in house since.

It would be far from the last gamble Jones made in Big D.

In 1995, Jones outbid the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos to obtain Deion Sanders, offering the cornerback $35 million over seven years, including a $12 million signing bonus that was second only to Troy Aikman's on the team-and which led to alegal battleover salary-cap manipulation. It also led Jerry's son Stephen to nearly assault his father, when he learned the terms the owner had agreed to, Stephen told Netflix.

Jerry's Thesis Was on Sports Marketing, Kind Of

Jones' master's thesis, shown in episode three, was on The Role of Oral Communication in Modern-Day Collegiate Football." From excerpts of the project displayed on screen, it appears more focused on how coaching legends like Woody Hayes and Bear Bryant used communication to build their teams and develop their players, rather than business ideas. But Jones says it also gave him thoughts about how to build the sport of football through modern marketing practices.

He saw the potential to create a non-stop soap opera" with the Cowboys, letting players and coaches appear on local TV shows and bringing cameras into the team's draft room for the first time. Jones also took the NFL to court over the ability to sell team-level sponsorships. And now he's opened up for an in-depth, multi-part Netflix documentary. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, former Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, and Nike founder Phil Knight are among the business people who make cameos in the series to praise Jones' business mind.

As the final episode ofAmerica's Teammakes clear, the Cowboys have maintained their status as the league's most valuable team, even as they have failed to reach an NFC title game since 1995. Jones admits he would offer an embarrassing amount of money to get another ring. But he doesn't have that option. Dallas is worth more than $12 billion, according toSportico's latest valuations; he'll have to settle for that.

In the meantime, the NFL has increasingly re-formed in The Star's image.To best understand the modern-day NFL-its power, profitability and cultural reach-you have to look at how Jerry transformed the business of football in the '90s," the Way brothers said. The DNA of today's league runs straight through that '90s Cowboys dynasty."

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