Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not afraid to speak his mind, and that was just as true decades ago as it is today.
CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz told an interesting tale Wednesday of a 1993 incident where Jones warned him the network faced the possible loss of NFL TV rights.
Nantz appeared at a media event in New York to promote CBS’ broadcast of the Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles game on Nov. 10 in Week 10. Nantz will be on the call, just as he was the last time the two teams met on CBS in 1993.
At that time, CBS had held NFC broadcast rights since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger, but there was a new player on the scene, Fox Sports when the NFL renegotiated its media contract in 1993.
No one expected CBS to lose its long-held rights to upstart Fox, but Nantz recalled an ominous and chance meeting with Jones before that 1993 Cowboys-Eagles game.
“All of a sudden, Mr. Jerry Jones sticks his head in the room,” Nantz said (via CBS Sports). “He points to me as I walk out and says to me, ‘You know what’s going on with these TV negotiations?’ I don’t know what he’s talking about. He says, ‘You’re gonna lose the NFL if you’re not careful.'”
“Then I realized he was sending a message for me to take back to New York. You guys better get this together because Fox is coming on big time. When I was a kid growing up, October 30 we called it ‘Mischief Night.’ So, I didn’t know what kind of mischief Jerry Jones was up to. What kind of hijinks he was up to, but I think he’s serious!”
Nantz quickly conveyed the message.
“I got on the phone with the hierarchy of CBS and said I just want you to know Jerry Jones singled me out of a meeting and basically said. ‘We’re in trouble.’ I’m just the messenger here,” he said.
Jones’ prediction turned out to be prescient.
“Sure enough, a month-and-a-half later. We lost the NFL,” Nantz said.
CBS lost NFL TV rights in those negotiations, and didn’t land another broadcast deal until 1998 when it secured rights for AFC games.
So how did an NFC vs. NFC game end up on CBS, longtime home to AFC games? Given all the different broadcast options now, from Sunday morning games in Europe to Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football, the NFL moved to ensure each partner gets prime matchups for its No. 1 game. Hence, CBS can carry NFC vs. NFC games when necessary, and Fox can carry AFC vs. AFC matchups.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.