Cowboys: The Media Darling
With training camp in full swing I, like many others, have been trying to consume as much coverage as possible for all of the 32 teams before we get to watch these teams in action next week in the preseason. I'm excited as ever to get a first look at these young rookies, new coaching staffs and many more storylines to come. NFL Network has been a great place to get ready for the season as they are showing so many live training camp practices with many reporters across the country covering all the teams. Saturday was the biggest event of training camp on NFL Network with “Back Together Saturday” 13 hours of NFL coverage. I watched it sparingly throughout the day and I couldn't help but notice the fact that the Cowboys camp was on our television screens more than any other team. The Cowboys continue to be a year-to-year storyline that honestly as a hardcore fan and broadcaster I'm simply tired of.
In 2021 alone, the Cowboys tied the Chiefs for the most Primetime games with six and finished ninth and local television ratings a 23 percent ratings jump from 2019. A large part of this is due to Jerry Jones and his very outspoken way of promoting the team not only nationally but also internationally. This has helped make the Cowboys the highest paid franchise in the NFL according to Forbes with a $6.5 billion evaluation in 2021. Jerry Jones has made the Cowboys a global pioneer. Even in years where they finish 8-8 or 9-7, they are still the most talked-about team and networks know that. Jones is also willing to spend money on controversial figures such as Aldon Smith and Greg Hardy to keep the story going versus focusing on actually winning a Super Bowl.
This team in 2022 is very talented with a great receiving core led by CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup And a defense led by Demarcus Lawrence and second-year player Micah Parsons. But in the past couple years Jerry Jones overshadows so much of the talent on this roster By commenting on contract disputes with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott and just this week having to give a vote of confidence to his head coach in a press conference. No owner in the NFL has to do such a thing on a week-to-week basis but Jerry Jones is more than willing to do that because television networks and the NFL league office knows that more Jerry Jones equals more television ratings.
At the end of the day I question if this hurts the game even in training camp this year there are more interesting stories then the Dallas Cowboys like Trevor Lawrence bouncing back after a difficult rookie year and all the quarterback changes across the league. I am not saying that the Cowboys aren’t interesting, I just wish we could talk about their roster or their schedule, not Jerry Jones or this coaching staff. This team has always been run by off-the-field drama to create intrigue versus on the field play. It's honestly no wonder why they haven't been competitive for a Super Bowl in a long while.
Sources Used:
https://www.forbes.com/teams/dallas-cowboys/?sh=4001bfcb1426
https://footballscoop.com/news/nfl-local-tv-ratings-2021