Jones said he was very close to buying the San Diego franchise when he was 28 years old.
DALLAS — From selling shoes in catalogs to managing a cruiserweight boxer, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was a busy man in his 20s.
In Netflix’s new docuseries, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, Jones detailed how he came very close to purchasing the San Diego Chargers when he was 28 years old.
According to Jones, he got the Teamsters, a labor union led by the controversial Jimmy Hoffa, to help him finance 10 pizza parlors.
Hoffa was a powerful American labor leader who rose to prominence as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957 to 1971. Known for his influence in expanding the union’s reach and securing better wages for workers, he also drew scrutiny for alleged ties to organized crime.
“When I was borrowing money from the Teamsters, a connection helped me get a visit with Jimmy Hoffa,” Jones recalled. “Jimmy Hoffa was one of the most feared names in America. And he basically said, ‘We think we can be a part of being in professional sports.'”
Jones said that Hoffa and the Teamsters said they would back him, giving him the money to buy a team. However, once Jones told his father about the idea, it didn’t go over so well.
“His dad was ready to kill him,” Jerry Jones’ wife, Eugenia Jones, said.
According to Jones, his father was concerned about what would happen if he couldn’t make payments, ultimately convincing him that the money and deal were not worth the fear that would come with it.
“I was shattered,” Jones said about the deal falling through. “My dream of football had passed me by.”
While this failed deal seemed like the end of the road for Jones and his ultimate passion, just under 20 years later, he would purchase the Dallas Cowboys.