NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to exact some financial revenge on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on behalf of other owners.
Goodell is expected to fine Jones millions of dollars for his efforts to derail the commissioner's contract extension and for his public defense of running back Ezekiel Elliott during the player's suspension, five league officials told Ken Belson of The New York Times.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport adds that Jones will be forced to reimburse fellow owners more than $2 million they incurred in legal fees over Jones' threats to sue his fellow owners.
The punishment will reportedly be levied in the coming weeks, and Goodell will declare Jones' actions as detrimental to the league. Several owners apparently urged Goodell to punish Jones, as they believed Jones "crossed an unspoken boundary" when he threatened legal action against his colleagues.
Jones hired a high-profile lawyer in November and said he was prepared to sue the six owners on the league's compensation committee who had been working on Goodell's new contract.
Related - Report: Jerry Jones tried to postpone Goodell's extension
The rival owners are executing a rule "that if an owner participates in bringing litigation against other owners, he must reimburse them for the legal fees," according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.
The action has reportedly been approved by the league's finance committee.
Jones was also extremely outspoken in his defense of Elliott. A woman told Ohio police that the player assaulted her in July 2016, and when the league finished its investigation ahead of the 2017 season, Elliott was suspended for six games. He didn't serve the ban immediately due to a series of appeals and injunctions.
