VSJERRY

Roger Goodell vs. Tom Brady two years ago was just a prelim to the main event, as it turns out. All that was at stake in Deflategate was the power of the commissioner and the reputation and integrity of the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

Knowing all they were fighting about was deflated footballs added a bit of levity to a situation that eventually got way out of control and turned into a vendetta of the league against Brady.

Brady will never forgive Goodell, but forcing him to hand over the Super Bowl MVP trophy in February was quite satisfying.

Now we have the fight to determine the real heavyweight champion of the NFL: Goodell vs. Jerry Jones.

The most powerful man in sports vs. the most powerful owner in sports.

This is a doozy that can impact the immediate future of the NFL.

It’s the Super Bowl of power struggles.

The basic premise is that Jones is livid that Goodell handed star running back Ezekiel Elliott a sixgame suspension for domestic violence when Jones has insisted there was no evidence to support a suspension. Elliott has yet to serve one game as his attorneys work their way through the court system.

Jones has declared war on Goodell, usually on his weekly Tuesday morning radio hit in Dallas, and this week said Elliott was a “victim of over correction” by Goodell, who mishandled the Ray Rice domestic violence case in 2014 by first only suspending him two games before increasing it to an indefinite suspension after the second elevator video was released.

Jones is the real-life J.R. Ewing. He finds a way to get his way and to get even. Even though Jones is not on the compensation committee that negotiates Goodell’s contract, Jones has made himself an unofficial member. Last week, ESPN reported that Jones was a leading voice among 17 owners on a conference call Oct. 26 that is fighting Goodell’s extension, which expires in March of 2019.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the chairman of the committee, is a Goodell ally. When I asked him what he knew about the call, he said, “I wasn’t on it.”

Goodell likely has enough support to get a new contract, but perhaps Jones is successful at bringing down his base pay and making it predominantly incentive based. Goodell’s pay fluctuates but was $44 million in 2013 including incentives. The incentive formula: How much richer he made a bunch of billionaires. When the NFL dropped its non-profit tax exempt status in 2015, it was no longer required to disclose the salaries of employees at the league office.

The CBA expires after the 2020 season. The network television contracts expire after the 2022 season. I don’t think the majority of owners will want a new commissioner being in charge of two huge negotiations. Goodell’s proposed contract extension will take him through March of 2024.

But do not underestimate Jones’ power. He is persuasive and not afraid at all of backlash. Remember, he fired Tom Landry on his first day as owner.

Goodell is stubborn. He doesn’t need this job anymore. He’s made enough money for the next five generations of Goodells. Not long ago sources were telling me he wasn’t even certain he wanted to extend his deal. But now that he’s getting pushed by Jones, there is no way he walks away.

Two years ago, Jones supported Goodell in Deflategate. He said he was doing an outstanding job.

“He has to make hard calls and more often than not, you’re going to have a season or you’re going to have a period of time where those go against you as an owner in the NFL,” Jones said at the time.

Jones is in too deep now to back down from Goodell. And Goodell will never back down from one owner when he believes it’s his job to protect the shield.

Jones and Robert Kraft were once among Goodell’s strongest supporters until the commissioner punished the most important player on their teams.

Goodell vs. Jones will break all pay-per-view records. Order now.

TOUGH BLOW

Less than 18 hours after Houston was euphoric following the Astros first World Series championship in their 56 seasons, bad news came again to the city that hosted the Super Bowl and the World Series this year but was also ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.

Deshaun Watson was one of the few bright lights in what has been a dreary and controversial first half of the season. It’s so sad and such a shame that he tore his ACL in his right knee in practice Thursday running a simple toss sweep in a noncontact drill, an injury that jolted the NFL.

“Minor setback for a major comeback,” Texans DE J.J. Watt tweeted. “We’ve all seen what’s possible, can’t wait to see what’s next. With you every step of the way 4.”

Watt fractured his leg and was lost for the season on Oct. 8 against the Chiefs. So the Texans have lost their two best players in the first seven games of the season.

Watson was having the same sort of impact as Robert Griffin III did as a rookie in 2012, although Watson throws the ball much better. RG3’s career was pretty much ruined when Mike Shanahan and the Washington doctors allowed him to play on a bad knee in a playoff loss to Seattle and he tore his ACL. He rushed back and started the season opener and was never the same. Watson is expected to be ready for training camp.

“He’s a special player,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s a special kid. He will be one of the top quarterbacks in this league for a long time to come.”

In seven games since taking over as the No. 1 QB at halftime of the season opener, Watson threw 19 touchdown passes, the most ever for a QB in his first seven games, and he tied for the NFL lead with Philly’s Carson Wentz. The Texans were averaging just under 35 points a game in his six starts. He threw for 402 yards and four TDs in an incredible performance in last week’s 41-38 loss in Seattle.

KAP OUT

If Colin Kaepernick was ever going to get signed, Houston was the spot after Watson’s injury for several reasons:

l He is a mobile quarterback so coach O’Brien would not have needed to change the offense.

l The starter is now Tom Savage, who was benched after the first half of the season opener against the Jaguars.

l Owner Bob McNair, who infuriated his players and players around the NFL with his “inmates running the prison” comment at a recent league meeting, could have earned a lot of good will from the pro-Kaepernick faction.

But Kaepernick’s decision to go after the NFL for collusion probably locked all the potential open doors for him to get a job. And with McNair, along with Jones and Kraft, included in owners who will be deposed and asked to turn over cell phone records and emails, there was no way Houston would sign him. Instead, O’Brien signed Matt McGloin, who played for him at Penn State, and former Texans QB T.J. Yates. Houston now has the worst QB depth chart in the league. Yates will be the backup Sunday. “You can’t really replace Deshaun Watson,” Savage said.

INJURY EPIDEMIC

The list of big-name players declared out for the year or expected to miss the rest of the season, although it’s not yet official, is simply staggering. In addition to Watson and Watt: Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr., Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (slight chance to return), Colts QB Andrew Luck, Chiefs S Eric Berry, Patriots WR Julian Edelman, Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower, Browns T Joe Thomas, Eagles RB Darren Sproles, Cardinals RB David Johnson, Texans LB Whitney Mercilus, Giants WR Brandon Marshall, Cardinals QB Carson Palmer, Bears TE Zach Miller, Eagles T Jason Peters, Eagles LB Jordan Hicks, Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, Jaguars WR Allen Robinson, Seahawks DE Cliff Avril, Ravens G Marshall Yanda, 49ers WR Pierre Garcon, Jets WR Quincy Enunwa. ... Jimmy Garoppolo could get his first start for the 49ers next Sunday at home against the Giants . ... Even if Garoppolo walked away from the Patriots after this season as a free agent, I think he was worth more as insurance for Brady for the rest of the season than a second-round pick in 2018. If he left as a free agent, the Patriots would probably have been awarded a third-round compensatory pick in 2019. Bad trade for Belichick . ... The Browns just can’t get out of their own way. They passed up Wentz and Watson in the last two drafts, but were ready to give second and third-round picks to the Bengals for A.J. McCarron until the paperwork was not sent in on time. The Browns are hopeless.

ZEKE’S LATEST

Elliott gets to play against the Chiefs on Sunday after he won a brief stay Friday in the latest round of his dizzying court battle with the NFL over his six-game domestic violence suspension. He should find out this week if the three judges assigned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals grant him a preliminary injunction putting the suspension on hold until the case is heard in U.S. District Court. If Elliott doesn’t get the injunction, he will likely have to start sitting out the six games. If he is granted the injunction, the danger is he loses the case in December and has to sit out the final games of the regular season and potential playoff games. It’s more likely the case will be heard after the season.

Daniel Wallach, a sports law expert, predicts Elliott will ultimately lose and have to serve six games. “My experience tells me arbitrator’s awards are rarely disturbed by the federal courts,” he said. “Elliott will likely run out of time and turf and have to serve the suspension. He is delaying the inevitable.”

Elliott’s case is built on fundamental fairness and whether the NFL deprived him of that right when it didn’t allow his attorneys to question his accuser at his appeals hearing in August.