Jerry Jones took a gamble buying the Dallas Cowboys when the team was hemorrhaging money, but his bet paid off: the NFL team is now the biggest money maker in the league. So, how much is Jones worth?
Jones, 82, purchased the Cowboys in 1989 for $150 million and, as of September, the team is valued at roughly $10 billion.
“I had danced with the devil to buy the Cowboys, and it was scary,” Jones told Forbes in November 2022, revealing he tapped into his oil fortune to make the move. “When I [got the loan], I celebrated because I had all the money back home.”
The Cowboys a.k.a. America’s Team earnings made Jones into a billionaire in 2004, making the record-breaking amount of $1.2 billion in 2023, per the outlet. (The team being worth $10 million in 2025 makes it the only sports franchise valued at that number.)
However, Jones and his family’s net worth, which Forbes reports is $19.5 billion at the time of this publication, is only partly because of the Cowboys.
Jones, who serves as president and general manager of the NFL team, also has commercial real estate assets — including car dealerships in Brazil and pizza franchises in the U.S. — natural gas holdings and the private gas entity Arkoma, which all contribute to his wealth.
“The greatest wealth is in the gas,” Jones told Forbes in 2022, explaining he made his first million in oil investments back in the ‘70s. “It’s much bigger than the Cowboys.”
At the time, the outlet reported that Jones’ natural-gas holdings, which include a stake in Comstock Resources, and his private gas company were worth a combined $4.3 billion.
Jones and his family’s fortune — he is married to Eugenia Jones and they share three grown children — has been on a steady rise since 2016.
His wealth was valued at $5 billion in 2016 and by 2023, the Texas resident’s net worth increased to $13.3 billion, according to Forbes. Between 2024 and 2025, Jones’ family fortune rose another $2.8 billion.
Eldest son Stephen Jones is the co-owner, executive vice president, CEO, and director of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones Jr. serves as the chief sales and marketing officer and executive vice president of the Cowboys. Jerry’s only daughter, Charlotte Jones, is a co-owner, executive vice president and chief brand officer of the team.
In recent years, Jerry has shone a light on the making of his empire by documenting both the Cowboys football players and cheerleaders in different entertainment ventures.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who are among the most iconic dancers in the NFL, have had multiple reality shows in recent history. Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders premiered in June 2024 and season 2 premiered this June. Fans will remember seeing Charlotte on several occasions as she oversees the team from a business perspective.
Netflix released America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys about Jerry and the football legacy he’s created in August.
Despite Jones’ monetary success, the Cowboys haven’t made it to a conference championship game since 1995.
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