Jones' '89 investment pays off

By KATIE FAIRBANK / The Dallas Morning News

It's been 15 years and a lot of dollars since Jerry Jones leveraged his holdings to buy the Dallas Cowboys for $140 million.

According to Forbes Magazine, the team's value has increased more than six-fold to $851 million, a tidy profit for Jones, a former oil and gas wildcatter. Even the estimated annual revenues of $198 million are an increase of 40 percent over the team's original cost.

"It's pretty much a wild guess since there are so few transactions of the best teams that command the most money. I doubt it would be worth as little as $500 million. I doubt it would be as much as billion," said Roger Noll, an economist at Stanford University.

While those numbers may seem gigantic to the average fan, if Jones had put his money into the right stocks during the go-go '90s, he could have done nearly as well.

"He's done better than an investment in the stock market, but not wildly better," said Dr. Noll.

Actually, owning any NFL team has proven itself as a good way for rich folks to get richer. Forbes says the value of the teams rose to an average $628 million. Things are likely to continue looking up since television ratings are still great and salaries are capped.

During his ownership, Jones has parlayed the Cowboys into arguably the most important football team in the nation.

Super Bowl victories in 1993, 1994 and 1996 cemented Dallas as "America's Team," bringing in fans and advertising dollars. Pepsi alone is paying around $20 million over 10 years to sponsor the Cowboys.

As owner, president and general manager, Jones has kept the team all in the family. Son Stephen is chief operating officer, Jerry Jones Jr. is chief sales and marketing officer and daughter Charlotte Anderson is vice president of charities and special events.

And while it's unlikely that Jones has any intention of putting the Cowboys on the market, he could expect a great return on his investment if he did. Experts say only the Washington Redskins would bring in more money – and even that's up for debate.

E-mail kfairbank@dallasnews.com