Jerry Jones Told Aaron Donald Cowboys Missing on Him in 2014 'Broke My Heart'

The Dallas Cowboys hit a home run with their first-round pick in 2014, drafting perhaps the NFL's best guard in Zack Martin. 

He just wasn't who Jerry Jones wanted.

The Cowboys owner met up with Aaron Donald outside a restaurant in Miami on Thursday, telling the Rams defensive tackle it "broke my heart" when Donald went three picks before the Cowboys' selection.

"First of all, you broke my heart," Jones told Donald, per TMZ Sports. "They took him before we could take him." 

Jones then shook Donald's hand and looked directly into the camera, calling the two-time Defensive Player of the Year a "War Daddy."

"I'm going to tell you something right here," Jones said. "You raise your hand to this guy. Now, this is the definition of a War Daddy. This is, 'Be a War Daddy!' right here."

For those unfamiliar, "war daddy" is a southern football term typically used to describe tough, skilled players—a definition Donald clearly fits. 

Whether Jones' comments constitute tampering is another question. Paying a player a compliment on a chance encounter happens all the time in NFL circles. Admitting you wanted a player six years ago on camera is something that might rankle a few people in Los Angeles.

With Donald locked into a contract through the 2024 season, though, odds are Jones will never get a chance to have the player he wanted in the 2014 draft.