Dallas Basketball

WATCH: Cowboys Jerry on drunken tales and 'Zeke Who?': ‘A milestone contract with a milestone person and player'

WATCH: Cowboys Jerry on drunken tales and 'Zeke Who?': ‘A milestone contract with a milestone person and player'
Mike Fisher|
WATCH: Cowboys Jerry on drunken tales and 'Zeke Who?': ‘A milestone contract with a milestone person and player'
WATCH: Cowboys Jerry on drunken tales and 'Zeke Who?': ‘A milestone contract with a milestone person and player'

FRISCO - Jerry Jones said it about as succinctly as he is capable of doing. ‘This is a milestone contract,' the Dallas Cowboys owner said at Ezekiel Elliott's new-contract press conference. 'But more importantly, it’s with a milestone person and player.’

The mood is festive here today at The Star, with Zeke having pocketed a new biggest-running-back-ever contract essentially on the eve of Dallas' Week 1 game against the visiting New York Giants. And Jones himself seems the happiest about it.

At one point, Jerry paraphrased former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington's slogan, 'That's the way baseball go.'

Jerry unveiled a "Zeke Who?'' shirt, poking fun at his own negotiating remark ... and then, along with Elliott, turned the shirt around to reveal its back: "THAT'S WHO!'' it reads.

In reflecting on being in New York during a gigantic deal with a star running back, Jerry remembered back to an Emmitt Smith negotiation that took him into the wee hours of the morning. He hung up phone, maybe a bit discouraged, and headed to the bar. He drank too much but finally returned to the room to see his hotel phone flashing.

Son Stephen Jones was on the line, wondering where Dad had disappeared to, as Emmitt had just agreed to a deal.

And then, Stephen interjected from today's podium: "And then (Jerry) went out to celebrate!''

On a serious note: Elliott announced that he is pledging $100,000 to the Salvation Army, which happens to be a favorite charity of the Jones family. And of course, Jubilant Jerry couldn't help himself.

"When Zeke sticks it in that (Salvation Army) bucket,'' Jerry said with a wink, "big things happen for the Salvation Army.''

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks since 1990. He has for more than 20 years served as the overseer of DallasBasketball.com, the granddaddy of Mavs news websites.

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