After a prolonged brouhaha, Dallas Cowboys owner and incredibly wealthy man Jerry Jones has agreed to pay the NFL over $2 million dollars for the legal fees the league spent during the suspension hearings of running back Ezekiel Elliott. The settlement came after a separate hearing this week with regards to Jones’ obligation to reimburse the league for the legal expenses, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media and Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Per @NFL on the Jerry Jones matter: After a hearing with the Commissioner and the Finance Committee, the matter of the reimbursement of legal fees has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2018
Source: Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones reimbursed NFL for more than $2 million in legal fees.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2018
Jones was pursued by Roger Goodell and the NFL to shell out the said amount after the Cowboys repeatedly tried to use the legal system to defer Elliott’s six-game suspension due to allegations of domestic violence. Elliott eventually served his suspension, and with Jones clearly unhappy with how it turned out for Dallas, he then went on to oppose the proposed contract extension of Roger Goodell as NFL’s commissioner.
According to Todd Archer of ESPN, Jones “threatened to sue the NFL and retained lawyer David Boies over Goodell's contract, but he never made a filing.” In spite of Jerry Jones’ interjections, Goodell managed to get his contract in the end.
The NFL decided to go after Jones and his pocket to also exercise a resolution made way back in 1997 which states that any owner who takes part in a litigation process involving other owners should later reimburse them for all the legal expenses made.
With this matter finally out of the way for Jones, he can now turn his attention to what matters most for Dallas: finding a way to win the Super Bowl next season.