NFF Honors Jerry Jones at Special Event



Ali Picken, T. Boone Picken, Toni Brinker
Photo by Kristina Bowman

The National Football Foundation (NFF) recently named Jerry Jones, the owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, to the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame as a charter inductee. Jones was honored Oct. 3 during an event at the Omni Dallas Hotel. 



Jerry Jones holds up his NFF Leadership Hall of Fame induction ring with NFF Chairman Archie Manning on the left and his grandson Shy Anderson Jr. on the right

The NFF announced the creation of the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame in May. The new platform provides the organization with a powerful vehicle for recognizing the country’s most influential individuals who have ascended to the highest levels of success and exhibited the critical leadership qualities that transcend ordinary enterprises.

Jim Poss, Mary Poss, Ebby Halliday

 “Jerry Jones has established himself as one of our nation’s top businessmen with a desire to win that is eclipsed by no one,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “He honed his leadership skills early in life as an All-Southwest Conference player for Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles on the 1964 national championship Razorback team, and he has built on those successes ever since. We are thrilled to have him as a charter NFF Leadership Hall of Fame inductee.”

Marianne and Roger Staubach

Jones worked with the NFF to dedicate the proceeds from the event to help launch a new campaign that encourages people to tell why football matters to them. The campaign, called Football Matters to Me, kicked off at the event with the premiere of a national television commercial that features Jeff Immelt, the chairman and CEO of GE and a former offensive lineman at Dartmouth College.

Jones said the campaign will help convey to parents the value of football in teaching young players about life. He emphasized that parents need to know about the enormous benefits that young people gain from playing the sport, and the campaign will play a significant role in achieving that goal.

NBC Sportscaster Al Michaels, Troy Aikman, Jerry Jones

A star-studded crowd turned out at the event to pay tribute to Jones, the owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, who has ascended to the highest levels of success in the sports business world.  Scott Pelley, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News and a CBS 60 Minutes correspondent, emceed the event, peppering an all-star media panel with questions throughout the night about Jones, his background and his legacy as an NFL owner.  The panel included NBC Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Al Michaels; Sports Illustrated writer and NBC Sports commentator Peter King; host of FOX NFL Sunday Curt Menefee; and radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys Brad Sham.

NFF Chairman and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Manning (Mississippi) joined NFF Board Member and College and Pro Football Hall of Famer quarterback for Navy and the Dallas Cowboys Roger Staubach for the ring ceremony and the formal induction of Jones into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame.

Other celebrities who took the stage included NFF Board Member and BP Capital Founder
T. Boone Pickens and NFF Board Member and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback for UCLA and the Dallas Cowboys Troy Aikman. Additional NFF Board Members in attendance included NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell, NFF Vice Chairman Murry Bowden, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and retired Boston College Athletics Director Gene DeFilippo.