{"id":1039552,"date":"2026-10-28T16:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T16:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1039552\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T16:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T16:30:23","slug":"dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-and-family-donate-250000-to-ted-cruzs-pac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1039552\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and family donate $250,000 to Ted Cruz’s PAC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz heads the Senate Commerce Committee, which has oversight of a variety of aspects of sports business. Credit: Wikimedia Commons \/ The White House<\/p>\n

In late August, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and three family members contributed a combined $250,000 to a political action committee tied to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Congress\u2019 top sports-policy gatekeeper, campaign finance filings show.<\/p>\n

The contributions come as the Texas Republican continues to use his chairmanship of the Senate Commerce Committee to wield power over pro and college sports. Cruz is co-author of the Protect College Sports Act, which passed the Senate last month, potentially establishing a sweeping new federal regulatory framework for intercollegiate athletics.<\/p>\n

During his leadership of the committee, Cruz has also introduced other legislation and overseen hearings with potentially major implications for team owners such as Jones, not to mention sports investors, professional leagues and sports betting entities.<\/p>\n

Neither Cruz\u2019s office nor the Dallas Cowboys media office responded to the Current\u2019s inquiries about the donations to the Truth and Courage PAC, a fundraising entity that lists its primary goal as ensuring Cruz\u2019s reelection. <\/p>\n

The Jones family\u2019s latest donations to the PAC include $62,500 each from Jones himself; daughter Charlotte Jones, the Cowboys\u2019 chief brand officer; son Stephen Jones, the team\u2019s chief operating officer; and son Jerry Jones Jr., the team\u2019s chief sales and marketing officer. All four family members have ownership stakes in the team.<\/p>\n

The Jones family\u2019s donations were made Aug. 26, less than three weeks before the Senate began taking procedural votes to advance the Protect College Sports Act, which the NFL has officially endorsed. <\/p>\n

While Jones hasn\u2019t publicly issued statements on the legislation, he has longstanding connections to college football, including serving on the National Football Foundation\u2019s board of directors.<\/p>\n

The Jones family\u2019s late-August donations to Truth and Courage aren\u2019t its first. Before the most recent $250,000 they pumped into the PAC, the four members donated a combined $500,000 on April 17 to Cruz\u2019s fundraising entity, campaign finance documents show. <\/p>\n

\u2018Questions about influence\u2019<\/p>\n

University of Texas at San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor said he\u2019s not surprised to see the Jones family throwing big money behind Cruz given Jerry Jones\u2019 history of backing GOP candidates and the team owner\u2019s eagerness to influence public policy that could affect the Cowboys franchise. <\/p>\n

Even so, the size of the contribution and the family\u2019s record of previous donations to Truth and Courage invite scrutiny, Taylor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be blunt, it does raise questions about influence when someone is throwing around this kind of money,\u201d the professor said. \u201cDo contributions on that level at least get your foot in the door to talk to the chair of a very powerful Senate committee?\u201d<\/p>\n

The House isn\u2019t expected to consider the legislation until after the November midterms, and its prospects there remain uncertain. President Donald Trump has been vocal in his support of the measure. <\/p>\n

Cruz\u2019s legislation would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption, allowing it to roll out new rules on athlete eligibility, transfers and compensation while shielding it from lawsuits and legal challenges. The proposal also would restrict conference realignment, including limiting the size of the nation\u2019s wealthiest athletic conferences.<\/p>\n

The senator co-authored the legislation with Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, and it enjoyed bipartisan support in the upper chamber. <\/p>\n

The Senate\u2019s passage of the act is a victory for the NCAA and its conferences, which have spent tens of millions of dollars<\/a> lobbying for a federal law allowing the governing body to establish and enforce new rules with greater protection from antitrust lawsuits.<\/p>\n

Support from pro sports leagues<\/p>\n

Pro sports leagues including the NFL have lined up behind Cruz\u2019s act, which supporters say promises to stabilize the college athletics system that serves as the principal pipeline for developing future players. The legislation would also allow colleges to negotiate television rights collectively, potentially generating additional revenue to fund sports programs.<\/p>\n

Even so, the bill faces opposition from labor, athlete groups and the NAACP, who argue it places restrictions on the more than half a million athletes who compete in college sports without allowing them a seat at the table. <\/p>\n

Critics argue that the bill would bestow the NCAA with considerable power and empower schools to regulate student athletes\u2019 compensation without giving those same athletes bargaining rights and adequate control over their own futures. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the better way to frame it is \u2018The Protect the NCAA Act,\u2019\u201d Sam Ehrlich, an associate professor at Boise State University who studies college sports, told NPR<\/a>. \u201cIt gives the NCAA significant institutional power to be able to continue to control college sports at the expense of athletes who have been able to push the NCAA on some of their illegal business practices over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

UTSA\u2019s Taylor said it\u2019s hard to establish whether major political contributions from pro sports figures such as the Jones family amount to a quid pro quo. However, he said they do suggest those with deep pockets have better access to lawmakers such as Cruz as they craft and deliberate on consequential legislation. <\/p>\n

Whether those donations become political baggage for Cruz as he chases another Senate term \u2014 or, as is widely speculated, another presidential run \u2014 may come down to whether voters have become inured to money in U.S. politics, the professor added. <\/p>\n

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