Last week, the NFL sent a letter to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones accusing hims of "conduct detrimental to the league" after Jones threatened to sue the other owners if they approved commissioner Roger Goodell's new contract.
It was the latest escalation between the league and Jones, a schism that appears to have origins in Goodell's decision to suspend Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games.
But on Tuesday, Jones abruptly dropped the idea of a lawsuit.
According to a letter from Jones to Falcons owner and chair of the compensation committee Arthur Blank obtained by the New York Times, Jones' initial concern was that only those owners on the compensation committee had a say in Goodell's contract; he wanted every owner to have "a voice in approving the terms." And now that, in Jones' view, the committee "is receiving valuable feedback from a number of owners," he is "standing down from my threat of litigation against the committee."
But this isn't the end of Jones' campaign to hold Goodell's feet to the fire.
"I want accountability," Jones told USAToday.com's Jarrett Bell on Tuesday.
Jones also tries to make it clear that this feud has nothing to do with what he views is his star player's unfair treatment by Goodell and the league.
"This is not about replacing Roger," the Cowboys owner continued. "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."
Jones' about-face comes 10 days after CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported that some owners were starting to turn on Jones because, according to La Canfora's sources, "his attacks on commissioner Roger Goodell are being seen by his peers as a direct reaction to his anger of Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension and are diminishing his respect and influence among other owners."
Put another way: It's hard to imagine that this doesn't have almost everything to do with Elliott, but Jones knows that he doesn't have the support to block Goodell's contract extension. But despite the setback, Jones says he will continue to be the mouthpiece for the other owners because, ultimately, he wants the best for the league.
"My position is that the owners expect me to be the ombudsman for them, as to this committee," Jones told Bell. "No one has the NFL's best interest in mind more than me, and I'm doing what I was asked to do by the owners. I don't see how you can be disciplined for that."
