Jerry Jones Defends His Support of Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott, Roger Goodell Feud

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spent a portion of the 2017 season engaged in a feud with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that cost him $2 million in legal fees. 

However, he told reporters Tuesday at the league's annual spring meetings in Orlando, Florida, that he understood the consequences when he started to go after Goodell for his handling of Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension. 

"When you get pretty supportive, then you run or get a chance to pay the fiddler," Jones said, according to ESPN.com's Todd Archer. "I have understood that. The commissioner has that power."

Goodell drew Jones' ire after the league announced it was suspending Elliott six games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy stemming from domestic violence allegations. 

The Cowboys owner proceeded to put up a public fight against Goodell's five-year contract extension and the NFL's compensation committee after he initially voted to pass the terms of the commissioner's new compensation package months earlier. 

"I want accountability," Jones told USA Today's Jarrett Bell in November. 

"This is not about replacing Roger. It's a misnomer to say it's payback for Ezekiel Elliott. It is about the accountability of the commissioner to all of the ownership."

Despite Jones' threats of legal action, Goodell's new contract—which could be worth as much as $40 million annually, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter—was approved in December.