Use your mouse or finger to take a virtual tour of Jerry Jones’ Valley Ranch office. Take the tour When you finish the tour, read our in-depth report below

Trappings of legend Exclusive look inside Jerry Jones’ office is a journey through Cowboys’ history Jerry Jones rubs his hands together and smiles the way people do when they relish what comes next. Where to start? The Cowboys owner doesn’t live in the past, but he loves to visit from time to time to share his stories. The desk is the first thing to catch his eye as he looks around his office. This is the desk where Tex Schramm sat and made decisions before some upstart from Arkansas took over. The same goes for the tan couch and granite coffee table on the opposite side of the room where some of the most significant negotiations in franchise history have taken place. All of the furniture that was in this Valley Ranch office the day Jones purchased the club 27 years ago remains. It’s his tribute to the previous general manager and to the Cowboys’ rich history. “I got D’s and F’s for the transition and actually heard the term ‘being disrespectful,’” Jones says. “The real world is the main reason I bought the Cowboys is because of the kind of respect I had for Tom Landry and Tex Schramm. They were icons and have proven to be icons in the NFL. “We want this going to our new world headquarters at The Star.”


Preserving the past Jones departs for training camp in Southern California later this month. When he returns three weeks later, he will move into his new office at the team’s state-of-the-art facility in Frisco. The interior won’t look much different. The photos, the trophies, the statues and most of the 1980s furniture that adorns his current office will make the trip northeast on the Sam Rayburn Tollway. The 73-year-old patriarch of the Cowboys conducts a tour of his office in one of his final days at Valley Ranch. One memory sparks another as he jams parts of four decades into little more than an hour. Where to start? Jones points to the title of certificate that grants the Cowboys membership into the NFL. Former commissioner Pete Rozelle put his signature on it 56 years ago. One shelf over sits the first ESPY award that was handed out for Outstanding Team. One of the people who presented the award in ’93 happens to be running for president. “Donald Trump and Marla Maples [Trump’s second wife] asked to give the award to surprise me,” Jones says. “Quite an occasion. Remember it like it was yesterday.” Pictures are everywhere. There is head coach Jimmy Johnson with his staff from that first season with the Cowboys. There is Jay Novacek with his touchdown catch against Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX, the one quarterback Troy Aikman threw before the tight end made his cut. “I knew Jay Novacek would be there,” Jones recalls Aikman explaining. “He’s always there.” Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States for 22 years and a huge Cowboys fan, has a photo in the office. Jones stops for a moment at the photo of his wife, Gene, saying, “There’s my quarterback right there.” And then there’s the picture of Jones sitting next to Elizabeth Taylor. The actress flipped the coin before the Cowboys faced Washington in the owner’s first regular-season home game in ’89. “No office would be complete if it didn’t have a nice picture of Elizabeth Taylor,” he says before fondly telling the story behind her appearance.

The Dallas Cowboys’ five Super Bowl trophies rest on a shelf behind a couch in the Valley Ranch office of Jerry Jones. (Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

Each object tells a tale Footballs that represent the more significant victories in Jones’ tenure are scattered throughout the office. A sculpture of Frank Broyles, the legendary Arkansas coach whom Jones first met at the age of 17, sits on the floor. Mounted on the wall a few feet away is a bronze cast Aikman had taken of his hands and arms to show how the Hall of Fame quarterback held the football. “He didn’t use a lot of lace to throw,” Jones says as he accidently dislodges the ball trying to show how it’s positioned. “That was problematic on wet days. But to not use the lace and have the accuracy he had … ” The owner’s voice trails off before he begins to talk about another one of his favorite players. Emmitt Smith. The leading rusher in NFL history has his own corner. A photo of the moment against Seattle in October of ’02 when he broke through the line for his historic run is autographed by Smith. The helmet and shoes Smith wore that afternoon at Texas Stadium are also on display. “Apart from those Super Bowl trophies, maybe the thing I’m most proud of in this office,” Jones says. Five Super Bowl trophies, the last three won on Jones’ watch, sit behind the sofa along the wall. Etchings by Bart Forbes, a painter and illustrator who worked for Time and Sports Illustrated, hang above them. They were in the office when Jones took over. An appraiser has told Jones that the entire collection by Forbes, some of which hangs in the owner’s private plane, are the most valuable items in his office.

Some of the most significant negotiations in Dallas Cowboys history have taken place on the tan couches at the far end of Jerry Jones’ office. The couches and other furniture will be moved to Jones' new office at The Star in Frisco. (Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

Where deals are struck Jones now settles into a chair next to the couch. Agents and players have sunk into the couch right across from him for years. This is when Jones reveals a negotiating trick, one he believes Schramm used before him. “If you jack my chair up just right, then you’ve got that soft cushion there, your you-know-what is about 5 to 6 inches off the floor,” Jones says as he recreates the scene. “I’m sitting here about 2 feet in the air looking right down at you, leaning in at you, coming real hard. “It’s hard to negotiate when you have your knees up around your ears.” He laughs. Some of the largest contracts in NFL history have been signed on the table in the middle of this negotiating pit. More often than not Jones likes to take a picture with the player after it’s signed, his pockets turned inside out indicating he’s broke. He tells all of the players to treat their money as if it were part of a widow’s portfolio. One of the owner’s favorite stories is the second contract he did with Michael Irvin. The receiver was handling his own negotiations. The two were getting close to a deal, but Irvin wanted more. “Michael, there’s an old West Texas town called El Paso. Do you know of it?” Jones asked. “Sure I do,” Irvin responded. “Repeat it,” Jones said. “El Paso,” Irvin said with an odd look. “Well, I El Paso. I’m not going for this,” Jones said with a straight face. Irvin cracked up, reached for the contract and signed on the spot. Please enable Javascript to watch this video There have been plenty of joyous moments in the office. But there have been difficult ones. Irvin has been part of those too. It came out in the ’90s that some of the players were using a house behind the practice facility, dubbed the White House, to meet with women and party. Irvin was a frequent visitor. Jones remembers calling Irvin into his office. He held up the newspaper and thrust it in Irvin’s face. “What the hell!” Jones spewed. “What in the world is going on here? What are we doing?” Irvin was quiet for a second then looked Jones in the eyes. “All I can say is this is the classic case of trying to do the wrong thing the right way,” the receiver said. Jones shakes his head as he recalls that exchange. “How do you stay mad at someone who gives you a comment like that?” he asks. There have been politicians and performers in this office. Jones remembers the day he heard someone walking down the hall bellowing, “Only in America, only in America!” Seconds later, boxing promoter Don King burst into the room. “He’s about 6-foot-2, and with that hair sticking up, he may not have cleared that door facing,” Jones recalls.


Close to the heart Jones tells one story after another. But he always returns to the coaches and players who have spent time in this office. It was nearly five years ago that Jason Witten signed a $37 million extension. The deal had been agreed to earlier, but the official signing came in Jones’ office with Witten’s family surrounding him. The tight end stepped out of the room for a moment after the pictures had been taken. On the other side of the office, behind the desk, is a door that leads outside to the owner’s car. Jones was about to go out that door when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Witten turned him around. “Mr. Jones, I will never forget this,” Witten told him. “I will never let you down.” Jones voice cracks as he recalls that day. “Of all the people, commissioners, owners, players, coaches, anyone I’ve met in the NFL, Jason Witten is in the top five,” Jones says. “Of anyone.” These are the stories Jones will remember when he walks out the door of his Valley Ranch office for the final time.