Jerry Jones is attempting to save the league again

The Dallas Cowboys owner is once again being viewed as crazy but his plan is actually helping the rest of the league beyond the 2020 NFL season.

Executive of the year is almost always awarded for how well a product they have built excels on the football field. I believe that Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is doing something that is going to affect every team in the NFL this offseason. Just because the Cowboys are failing on the field doesn’t mean the games are meaningless.

That little thing he is affecting is called revenue sharing. If you are not familiar, revenue sharing is the collective pot of money every team in the league shares which in turn essentially set’s the salary cap for the following year.

The NFL and the NFLPA agreed in this Covid-19 era that the floor for the 2021 salary cap will not dip below $175 million dollars. Just to show everyone how important this is, the 2020 NFL salary cap is $198 million. The league was expected to surpass $200 million next year for the first time in its existence.

Before the debate begins about how unfair it is for billionaire owners to pay less to NFL players in a pandemic and that they should pay out of their own pockets fail to realize that billionaire owners want to stay billionaires thus making sound business decisions allow them to continue to stay where they currently reside.

Now back to the issue, NFL profits are split into two separate categories. The first is what goes into the NFL pot of money that is revenue sharing. Television deals, merchandise, licensing deals that are official partners with the NFL, and most importantly 40% of away team’s ticket sales go into this pot.

The team gets to keep 60% of home ticket sales, concession sales, parking fees, and corporate sponsors with the local team. So whenever you see a team such as the Washington Redskins on TV with empty seats, it affects the salary cap as a league moving forward.

So how exactly is Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saving the league?

This is an easy dot to connect. Yes, Jerry Jones is making money by allowing fans at AT&T Stadium but his 40% of home ticket sales are helping raise the proposed 2021 NFL salary floor. Remember, Jerry gets to keep his concession and parking sales but he also has to fund the overall pot.

Jerry Jones has averaged just over 26,000 people for every Cowboys home game this season. That average is about 10,000 more fans than second-place Jacksonville. In comparison, there are 14 teams that have not had any ticket sales this year.

Now before I get destroyed for COVID-19 protocols, I have to say that I felt completely safe on Thanksgiving watching the Dallas Cowboys play. This is coming from a person who is terrified of the virus. Seats are spread apart with sign-holding individuals ensuring everyone keeps their masks on in every section of the stadium.

If you want to skip down to the lower levels and grab a better view, all non-sold seats are zip-tied together keeping fans from gathering too closely. Disinfectant wipes are also provided for every seat holder. I felt safer in the stadium than I do shopping at my local grocery store. Small isles in a confined closed space is not an experience you will have at AT&T stadium.

Now, Covid-19 has kept almost everyone indoors which means that TV viewers should not be affected too much. The NFL has seen a rise and dip from week to week NFL games but overall the NFL should still have healthy numbers. Television is the primary source of income when it comes to revenue sharing.

The holiday season should help boost internet merchandise sales and the NFL network has seen an increase in audience attendance with the NFL draft breaking its own viewership record by almost 2 million more viewers this year.

Let’s also not forget that the NFL TV deal expires after the 2021 NFL season where many expect the league will try and double their current annual income of $5 billion dollars. If there is a dip in salary cap space next season, expect an astronomical rise in 2022.

That only leaves 40% of away team ticket sales as the only below-average revenue sharing deficit. Jerry Jones knows he has to find a way to franchise quarterback Dak Prescott

to keep some leverage in negotiations. Helping raise the salary cap floor is the only thing he can do financially at the moment that can get him to his endpoint.

How many executives can say they affected an entire league’s salary cap issue by attempting to raise it? Yes, Jerry Jones, the businessman is once again proving that he is the MVP of NFL owners.

Jerry Jones once helped turn millionaire owners into billionaires with his sponsorship deals. Is he once again proving his genius mind is helping save the NFL from an invisible foe wreaking havoc on the world?