How Jerry Jones Helped Launch FOX in the Early 1990s

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones played a huge role in FOX getting rights to the NFL in the early 1990s, a deal that launched the brand to where they are today.

Bryan Curtis of The Ringer is one of the few guys regularly writing long, compelling features on sports media. His shocking piece on lonely New Orleans Pelicans beat sticks out to me but he really outdid himself a few days ago. Curtis published a long oral history detailing a story most people aren’t familiar with: FOX’s first foray into NFL broadcasting, and the positive effect it had on their future.

The feature, titled “The Great NFL Heist: How Fox Paid for and Changed Football Forever” is a must-read; if you’re on Slackie Brown, it’s right up your alley.

Bryan Curtis, who is an editor at The Ringer in addition to his storytelling, writes the story through a number of notable voices — John Madden, Terry Bradshaw, and Joe Buck are among them — as they take you from Point A — FOX is a brand on par with UPN and WB that airs zero major sporting events — to Point B — their high-stakes bet on the NFL as their brand’s centerpiece — and eventually, to Point C — the brand as we know it today. It’s riveting and dramatic, revealing facts from yesteryear that are flat-out crazy to think about for most millennials. I mean, can you imagine NFC games on CBS every Sunday? It’s scary to think about (Tony Romo wouldn’t be able to do them all, sadly) yet that was life at the start of the 1990s. Thankfully, a perfect storm of fresh-thinkers, gigantic checkbooks, and sheer stupidity hit in 1993, with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones playing a pivotal role in the groundbreaking result.

Let me quickly string the story together for you, complete with facts and quotes directly from Curtis’ piece…

Fox owner Rupert Murdoch wanted to build a powerhouse network around the NFL’s NFC package despite never having a major sports deal. CBS held the rights to the NFC for years, and according to their senior vice president of production Rick Gentile, they planned “to renew as we always had.” But the advertising business was in a bad spot in the early 1990s, according to Dick Ebersol, leaving sports-rights holders in “deep doo-doo.” In turn, CBS decided to offer less money ($250 million) than their previous agreement ($265 million), leaving the door open.

Murdoch, unlike the well-stocked CBS group, was essentially betting his entire brand on the NFL deal; he was prepared to do whatever it took. Unfortunately, Fox was never looked at seriously in the past, and CBS had a great relationship with the NFL and their chairman of the broadcasting committee, Art Modell. It was a “hail mary,” according to current YES Network President and CEO (and former Fox exec) Tracy Dolgin.

“No matter what anybody says, this was a Hail Mary. We did not expect to win.” —Tracy Dolgin, Fox Broadcasting executive vice president of marketing

And, finally, this is where Jerry Jones comes in. Jones, back then, wasn’t Jerry Jones like you know him today. At the same time, he was an up-and-coming owner, brash and thirsty for new ideas to grow the league. Fox, besides potentially paying more, was to make the NFL their baby — it wasn’t just another asset to them, it was the asset. They planned for more cameras and audio, relatable personalities at every turn, and a year-round marketing effort. Jones, alongside Denver Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen, were now in Modell’s position and all ears to what Fox had to say. Besides, according to Curtis, the new duo “had little sympathy for CBS” and “needed the money.”

“Pat’s the brains, and I’m the muscle,” Jones liked to say.

Murdoch was able to get a real seat at the table for the first time, rather than a “stalking horse” like in the past. With growth in mind and people on finally in his corner, Fox would go on to secure a four-year, $1.6 billion deal for the NFC rights. Per the Curtis’ article, “it was half a billion dollars more than CBS had paid under their old deal, and 60 percent more than CBS was offering on the current one.”

It’s really hard to believe they were once thought of as UPN or WB but they were, and according to former NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol, Jones and Bowlen are directly responsible for the brand Fox is today.

“The key to those negotiations more than anything else was Pat Bowlen and Jerry Jones. There never would have been a Fox network if the two of them hadn’t stood up and repudiated Modell.” —Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports President

This deal, unquestionably, was the launching pad for the brand we know these days. They’ve grown a ton, yet their NFL coverage remains a gold standard in the industry.

You can read the entire article here on The Ringer.

Bryan Curtis also hosts “The Press Box” podcast with David Shoemaker on The Ringer.