Goodell eyeing $2M fine for Cowboys owner

NATIONAL Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell is preparing to hit Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with a multimillion-dollar fine in the latest twist to their long-running feud, US media reports said on Monday.

The New York Times reported that Goodell is mulling a $2 million fine after Jones attempted to scupper the NFL chief ’s contract extension last year, on g rou nds it was conduct detrimenta l to t he leag ue.

Jones and Goodell clashed repeatedly in 2017, with the Cowboys owner furious at a six-game suspension imposed by the NFL against running back Ezekiel Elliott for a domestic violence case.

Elliott fought the suspension in a protracted legal battle before eventually admitting defeat and accepting the ban in December.

Cowboys owner Jones mean- while had sought to delay confirmation of a new five-year contract for Goodell previously agreed by the league’s compensation committee.

Jones threatened to sue the six other team owners on the committee if Goodell’s contract was approved. He later backed down and Goodell’s new deal was confirmed.

The Times reported that the NFL would order Jones to pay the legal costs that the commit- tee had incurred in defending itself against the claim.

Jones would also be told to foot the bill for the NFL’s legal costs in the Elliott case, which went through multiple appeals in a New York court.

The Times, citing five league officials with knowledge of the case, reported that Goodell had been reluctant to escalate his feud with Jones, a billionaire regarded as one of the most influential owners in the NFL.

However the Times report said several owners were in favour of a fine against Jones, believing he had “crossed an unspoken boundary by threatening his colleagues” on the compensation committee with legal action.

The league’s compensation committee includes Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans owners.