skydance sports, nfl films And this jerry jones The family is collaborating on what they call the “defining” documentary about dallas cowboys and Jones’ arc as a franchise owner and builder spanning more than 30 years.
As president and general manager, Jones is credited with engineering a massive turnaround that led to three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. While the Lombardi Trophy has remained out of reach over the past two-plus decades, Jones and his family have spearheaded the Cowboys’ rise to the most valuable position in professional sports.
Using never-before-seen footage from the NFL Films Archive, the as-yet-untitled series will trace Jones’ rise from son of an Arkansas community store owner to the top of the pro sports heap. Interviewees will include former Cowboys players Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders; former head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer; and luminaries like Rupert Murdoch and Phil Knight.
When Jones made the highly leveraged acquisition of the team in 1989, it was coming off a 13-loss season and losing more than $1 million per month. After becoming a championship contender, Jones also helped create the modern NFL, shaping its marketing, branding, broadcasting and team venue management.
The project will be the first to stem from the newly formed joint venture between Skydance Media and the NFL. The venture is designed to build top-end sports content studios and expand multi-platform sports programming across a wide range of formats.
“We are incredibly excited to create a thrilling ride through one of the most memorable and high-powered turnarounds in football history. Launching this first series with Skydance Sports is a momentous occasion for our partnership as we Producing the premiere sports studios of the future,” said Ross Ketover, senior executive at NFL Films.
Charlotte Jones, EVP and Chief Brand Officer of the Cowboys, called it “a very special and deeply personal project” that will “take on sports fans, business fans, families and everyone who looks for adventure like no other.”
The project follows a series of popular sports documentaries, among them the 2020 Michael Jordan series the last Dance and last year’s Derek Jeter/New York Yankees outing, captain, Streaming has helped boost opportunities for docu programming, particularly in the sports sector, with Netflix, Amazon and Apple joining media companies investing in the NFL, Formula One, NBA and pro tennis and golf titles.
“Jerry Jones is an incredible figure,” said Jesse Sisgold, President and COO of Skydance. “With the Dallas Cowboys, he has created the world’s most valuable sports franchise and has largely changed both modern football and sports business. It is an honor to remember his and his descendants’ journey by partnering with the Jones family, the Dallas Cowboys organization and NFL Films to bring this uniquely American story to life.
David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold and Jon Weinbach will executive produce for Skydance Sports while Ross Ketover, Pat Kelleher, Brian Rollap and Hans Schroeder will executive produce for NFL Films. Charlotte Jones will executive produce for The Jones Family and the Cowboys. John Skipper, former president of ESPN and now head of Meadowlark Media, will also serve as an executive producer on the project.