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The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world. In the most recent edition of Forbes’ annual ranking, the Cowboys were valued at an astonishing $10.1 billion, the only 11-figure team in the world. They’re a full $1.3 billion above second place (the NBA’s Golden State Warriors). And they’re nearly $3 billion ahead of the next NFL team, the Los Angeles Rams, valued at $7.6 billion. How exactly did the Cowboys—who haven’t won a Super Bowl in 30 years—become the highest-valued sports team on Earth?
That’s one of the questions explored in the new Netflix docuseries America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys. Focusing on notoriously splashy Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who purchased the team for $140 million in 1989, the eight-episode series presents highlights from thousands of hours of archival footage (including plenty of cheerleading, a focus of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which was just renewed for a third season) and interviews, as well as new interviews from Jones and other NFL figureheads from across the league, to paint a portrait of the Cowboys’ success.
Read more: How the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Got a 400% Pay Raise
Jerry Jones’ playbook for greatness
Jones took great inspiration from his father, Pat Jones, who told him, “You’ve got to make it bigger than life. You gotta add a little sizzle to it.” The elder Jones ran a grocery store, and his salesmanship left an indelible impact on Jerry, who refers to him as a “master marketer.” Pat would put bandstands in the middle of the store, he’d host amateur talent contests—anything to get attention and to differentiate their store from all the others. It was about making something so big, you simply had no choice but to pay attention to it.
Jones attended the University of Arkansas in the early 1960s, playing…
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