Getty NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talk on the field prior to a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game.
Being a part of the Dallas Cowboys means you always have a target on your back, and owner Jerry Jones knows that better than anyone.
Since Jones purchased the Cowboys from Bum Bright in 1989, the Cowboys have become one of the biggest franchises in the world. With three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s, the franchise became “America’s Team.” They also became the most visible, and therefore easiest team to hate.
The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram reports that a recently released study from BetOnline.ag looked at the number of negative Tweets posted about individuals involved in the league, from athletes to owners to the people running the NFL.
Unsurprisingly, Jones made the cut in the top 20.
24,602 negative Tweets about the Cowboys owner were sent in December, putting him at 12th. In terms of owners, the 79-year-old was the second-highest on the list, with Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder taking first among owners and 10th on the list.
The only Dallas player to make the top 20 was running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott’s vocal past and off-field issues have earned him criticism, and the study says that the running back ranked 19th with 6,640 negative Tweets written in December 2021.
Full List of ‘Most Hated’ Players
Curious about who else made the list? It’s almost surprising that there aren’t more Cowboys players on this list, but seeing the full list of names gives some context.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers takes the overall crown, while Robert Kraft joins Jones and Snyder as the only other owner in the top 20.
- Aaron Rodgers (266,850)
- Antonio Brown (107,379)
- Bill Belichick (88,482)
- Odell Beckham Jr. (84,399)
- Deshaun Watson (75,210)
- Jackson Mahomes (71,349)
- Tyreek Hill (62,379)
- Roger Goodell (59,731)
- Baker Mayfield (51,285)
- Dan Snyder (48,529)
- Cam Newton (28,467)
- Jerry Jones (24,602)
- Kirk Cousins (19,056)
- Josh McDaniels (16,008)
- DeSean Jackson (13,598)
- Jalen Ramsey (11,278)
- Brittany Matthews (10,404)
- Richard Sherman (8,562)
- Ezekiel Elliott (6,640)
- Robert Kraft (5,362)
It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t a sure-fire way to tell who’s truly the most-disliked person in the NFL. Rodgers was and is in the middle of a murky scenario with Green Bay, so it only makes sense that he received the most amount of Tweets.
The same goes for Antonio Brown, who left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in controversial fashion in December 2021.
Jones & Mike McCarthy ‘Laughed’ About Rumors
Jones’ relationships with his head coaches have always been highly scrutinized, and the standing with current HC Mike McCarthy is no different. Fans and media alike have their eyes on the coach, who is yet to make any noise in the postseason after two full seasons.
McCarthy and Dallas fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card round, which prompted buzz that McCarthy could be fired. With New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton retiring, there were thoughts that Payton could instead join Dallas. According to McCarthy, he and Jones discussed those rumors and laughed them off.
“It’s a narrative I don’t want to be a part of,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think anyone would want to be a part of it, on either side of the fence… He addressed [the Payton rumors], we laughed about it, and moved on. That’s really where it is.”
So it sounds like it was never a serious conversation, but Jones still made an effort to cool down any concerns for McCarthy.