Jeff Pearlman slams Netflix Cowboys docuseries: ‘A hand job to Jerry Jones’

Few members of sports media are as well-versed on the history of the Dallas Cowboys under Jerry Jones as Jeff Pearlman.

And when it comes to Netflix’s new docuseries, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, the New York Times bestselling author was far from impressed.

In a video posted to his TikTok account, Pearlman offered his less-than-flattering review of the docuseries. And despite never being contacted for the project, he stated that he is confident that his 2008 book on the subject, “Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty,” served as significant source material.

“So I’m watching the Netflix documentary on the Dallas Cowboys and I actually feel like throwing up. I actually do,” he said. “A couple of things: No. 1, I know they used my book. It’s clear that Skydance used my book — and, nothing. It’s OK. Fine, whatever.”

Pearlman went on to state that his biggest issue with the docuseries stems from its portrayal of Jones, especially with regard to the Herschel Walker trade. While the project allows both Jones and former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson to claim credit for the deal, the author says that only one of them did so deservingly.

“Jerry Jones taking credit for the Herschel Walker trade is ridiculous,” Pearlman said. “It was not a ‘we.’ It was Jimmy. Like, it was 100 percent Jimmy. It was zero percent Jerry. Jerry didn’t even know what the hell was going on. It was a Jimmy Johnson trade. The organization of the trade was Jimmy. The value for the picks for the players they acquired was Jimmy. And so far, this whole documentary is just a hand job to Jerry Jones. It actually is infuriating. The Cowboys haven’t been good in 30 years. Thirty years. Like, what are we doing here? Anyways, I already don’t like it. I’m trying to like it, but I don’t like it.”

@jeffpearlmanauthorThis Netflix Dallas Cowboys documentary series is nauseating.♬ original sound – Jeff Pearlman

As somebody who enjoyed the docuseries, I’d contend that it doesn’t take either Jones or Johnson’s side; it merely presents the fight over credit for the trade as one of the primary factors in their long-running feud. Perhaps Pearlman feels that the answer is so obvious that it doesn’t deserve to be debated. But rationally or not, it seems clear that Jerry Jones always resented Jimmy Johnson for taking public ownership of the deal.

Ultimately, Jeff Pearlman is one of the foremost experts on the 1990s Cowboys and it’s not a surprise that he’d view the project with a more critical eye than most. Especially if he believes that his book played a significant role in shaping the series and he wasn’t contacted about it, let alone asked to be involved.