Cowboys' Jerry Jones Says He Expressed Himself 'Not in Good Taste' to Robert Kraft

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has addressed the report that he told New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft "don't f--k with me" during a heated exchange Tuesday at the NFL owners' meetings.

"In this particular case, it's probably accurate that I did express myself in probably a way that's not in good taste," Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan (h/t Jon Machota of The Athletic).

ESPN's Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. provided context on the incident, reporting Jones was the only owner to vote against allowing the compensation committee to open negotiations for a new contract for commissioner Roger Goodell.

Kraft was among the 31 owners who voted in favor of such a measure and replied "excuse me?" when Jones seemingly lashed out.

"Don't mess with me," Jones reiterated.

According to Wickersham and Van Natta, Jones' issue with Goodell's potential new contract is that the triggers for bonuses are "too vague and not connected to a strict set of financial goals and metrics."

He spearheaded an effort to change the commissioner's contract from primarily salary-based to bonus-based using performance metrics in 2017.

"He believes in corporate good governance and wants accountability on the financial goals tied to Roger's bonus," a league source said. "He is sensitive to awarding a big bonus to Roger before he performs and earns it."

Jones echoed those sentiments during Friday's interview.

"Let me be real clear, I'm a real supporter of Roger Goodell as our commissioner," he said. "I think he's done outstanding. … [I had] an issue with the structure regarding how we were going to address the commissioner or his successor. [It was] not [about] my support for Roger."

Jones and Kraft are among the most public faces of the NFL's owners, who have to approve any contract renewal for Goodell.

Goodell has been the NFL commissioner since 2006.