If you think you know all there is know about Dallas Cowboys owner, president, and GM Jerry Jones, just wait. A whole TV series is kicking off to “trace Jones’ remarkable rise from the son of an Arkansas community store owner to being one of the most innovative and influential leaders in sports.”
Skydance Sports, NFL Films and the Jerry Jones family announced the development of the “defining” docuseries about the man lovingly (and sometimes not-so-lovingly) known as Jerrah. Sure to be a roller-coaster ride, the series will series will cover both his highs (three Super Bowl wins and building the team to be the most valuable in all of sports) and lows (early pushback from Tom Landry-worshipping fans in a money-losing 1-13 era, a bitter breakup with former Head Coach Jimmy Johnson, and being in no Super Bowls ever since).
The project comes with a pedigree showing in theaters now: Skydance produced the hit movie “Air,” directed by Ben Affleck and starring Affleck, Matt Damon and Viola Davis, about the birth of the Air Jordan Brand.
Tapping ‘never before seen content’ from NFL Films
The docuseries doesn’t have a title yet. But it feature footage plucked from deep within NFL Films’ “vast archive of never-before-seen content”—with a long list of superstar players, coaches, and business people including Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders, Head Coaches Johnson and Barry Switzer, Rupert Murdoch, and Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight.
Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys EVP and chief brand officer, says the family is fully behind the project.
“Sharing my father’s journey and his passion for the game, while presenting it in partnership with this talented and accomplished group, will take sports fans, fans of business, families, and everyone watching on an adventure like none other,” she said in a statement.
Will be the first project from NFL Films-Skydance joint venture
The Jerry Jones docuseries will be the first-ever project from the newly formed joint venture between Skydance Media and the NFL. (Which is no doubt a testament to both Jones’ outsized Hall of Famer pop-culture stardom and the immense ratings-hawking popularity of the Cowboys brand.)
The goal of the joint venture is “to create a premier sports-content studio and significantly expand multi-platform sports programming across a broad range of formats for fans and viewers around the world.”
“We’re incredibly excited to create a thrilling ride through one of the most memorable and high-powered turnarounds in football history,” Ross Ketover, senior executive at NFL Films, said in a statement. “Launching this first series with Skydance Sports marks a momentous occasion for our partnership as we build the premiere sports studio of the future.”
“NFL Films coined the term ‘America’s Team,'” Ketover added, “so having this first project be about the biggest brand in all of sports is perfectly fitting.”
‘An incomparable figure’
“Jerry Jones is an incomparable figure,” says Jesse Sisgold, president and COO of Skydance, “With the Dallas Cowboys, he has built the world’s most valuable sports franchise and has undeniably transformed both modern football and the sports business at-large. It is an honor to commemorate his journey and that of his dynasty by partnering with the Jones family, the Dallas Cowboys organization, and NFL Films to bring this uniquely American story to life.”
David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, and Jon Weinbach will executive produce the docuseries for Skydance Sports with Ross Ketover, Pat Kelleher, Brian Rolapp, and Hans Schroeder executive producing for NFL Films. Charlotte Jones will executive produce for the Jones family and Cowboys. John Skipper will also serve as an executive producer on the project.
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