A heated argument reportedly took place at the NFL fall meetings in New York on Tuesday between two long-standing owners: Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones and New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft.
The argument stems from a motion to permit the owner’s compensation committee to begin negotiations on a new deal with commissioner Roger Goodell, ESPN reported. Goodell’s contract is up after this year.
The vote went 31-1 with Jones being the only owner not in favor of the motion, to which he reportedly told Kraft "Don’t f--- with me," according to ESPN.
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Kraft responded by saying, "Excuse me?" Jones answered, "Don’t mess with me."
The NFL declined to comment on the situation to Fox News Digital. The Cowboys and Patriots did not respond to a request for comment initially by Fox News Digital.
This isn’t the first time Jones has had an issue with Goodell’s contract. He was one of the main voices that believed his five-year pact in 2017 should be mostly bonus based instead of salary, as several committees of owners would determine whether he met their goals, ESPN reported.
Now this new deal concerns Jones. He reportedly doesn’t believe the bonus pool is strict enough for Goodell in terms of meeting new goals and targets.
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"He believes in corporate good governance and wants accountability on the financial goals tied to Roger’s bonus," a source told ESPN. "He is sensitive to awarding a big bonus to Roger before he performs and earns it."
Goodell has been at his current post since 2006, and most recently helped mediate a 10-year collective bargaining agreement between the league owners and the NFLPA. It’s main features was the addition of the 17th game for every franchise as well as making sure no games were missed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goodell, though, has stated in the past that he "doesn’t want to be considered someone who stays in the job too long." In 2017, before signing his new deal, Goodell reportedly told some owners that he would walk away after his next contract was up.
But, with this being voted on at the fall meetings, it appears that both the owners and Goodell want him to remain commissioner in what could be a new two or -three-year contract.
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This wasn't the only shocking news out of the fall meetings as Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters that he believes there's "merit" to consider the removal of Dan Snyder from Washington Commanders ownership.
Irsay's comments came after a lengthy report that Snyder dug up "dirt" on several NFL owners and told a close associate that the NFL league office or Goodell "can't f--- with me."
These past few years with Goodell as commissioner the Commanders have had multiple scandals and investigations swirl around their franchise. Snyder, though, said that the report of him hiring private investigators to acquire information on the other owners is "patently false," and that he and co-CEO Tanya Snyder will answer any questions the other owners will have.
There is also the issue of a toxic workplace that brought about a $10 million fine to the organization following an investigation. It was a matter that was brought before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Snyder refused to testify at a hearing before the House lawmakers in June as part of the investigation, though Goodell did offer his testimony before the committee.
He condemned the workplace culture in Washington but clarified that changes were implemented after the NFL’s investigation. Goodell argued the changes impacted not only Washington but the entire league.
In 2021, The New York Times reported that Goodell made roughly $128 million in compensation from 2020 to 2021.
