Jerry Jones Plans to Make Cowboys Players Pay for $500,000 NFL Fine

Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints were each fined a whopping $500, 000 on Thursday after multiple brawls broke out during their joint practice earlier in the week.

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• According to Cowboys insider Patrik Walker, owner Jerry Jones intends to personally fine the players he considers responsible for the fighting.
• As for who exactly Jones might target, Cowboys outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku – who was ejected for throwing punches – could be one name on the list.

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Between six and eight fights reportedly broke out between the two sides, with players throwing punches, tossing helmets, and – in one especially wild moment – a Saints player delivering a WWE-style suplex on a Dallas defender.

According to Cowboys insider Patrik Walker, owner Jerry Jones intends to personally fine the players he considers responsible for the fighting. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News continued that Jones additionally intends to appeal the $500, 000 league fine altogether.

As well as the media firestorm that followed, the NFL is clearly signaling zero tolerance for how badly things escalated. But $500, 000 is still a massive fine for a practice fight, even by NFL standards.

Two years ago, the New York Giants and Detroit Lions were each fined $200, 000 after fights broke out during their own joint practice – less than half of what the Cowboys and Saints now owe. But in that instance, neither organization decided to personally punish the players involved. Jones doesn't appear as willing to let his players off the hook so easily.

As for who exactly Jones might target, Cowboys outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku – who was ejected for throwing punches – could be one name on the list. As both were involved in multiple altercations, safety Jalen Thompson and linebacker Sam Williams could additionally be in the mix.

Meanwhile, the situation was summed up well by Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer after the practice. "There's a discipline element to playing this football game, " Schottenheimer remarked. "Unfortunately, we didn't handle that very well today."

Time will tell whether Jones' appeal results in a reduced fine, and which players he ultimately deems the biggest instigators on Dallas' side.

Taken together, the developments around jerry Jones Plans to Make Cowboys Players Pay for $500, 000 NFL Fine point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.