Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is mad at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and is working behind the scenes to deny him a contract extension.

Jones is angry at the commissioner for his weak response to the anthem protests.  But there are several other issues as well, including the fact that Jones considers the $200 million that Goodell has been paid while serving as commissioner far too much money.

New York Post:

The influential Cowboys owner was a leader of a 17-owner conference call Thursday discussing whether they could halt a pending contract extension for the commissioner, according to an ESPN report Sunday.

Jones tried holding up the talks last month, according to Sports Business Daily, after Goodell slammed Ezekiel Elliott with a six-game suspension (a war that is now being waged in court). Amid another controversy this month – the national anthem saga has necessitated multiple owners-players meetings, as Goodell won't mandate the players stand and Jones is threatening Cowboys onto their feet – Jones appears to be relaunching an attempt at dethroning the commissioner.

According to the report, the owners are unhappy with Goodell for a few reasons beyond the anthem, including how the NFL handled the relocation of teams to Los Angeles and (still) the league's bungling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case.

"You don't get to have this many messes over the years like Roger has had and survive it," one owner said during the call, according to ESPN.

The league would need 24 owners to approve of Goodell's firing, thus it is unlikely Jones can corral enough owners to overthrow a commissioner who has made them a lot of money. Yet, Goodell's contract extension – a near certainty in September – still has not been finalized.

"Maybe Arthur [Blank, the head of the compensation committee] and that committee think they're on track," an owner told ESPN about Goodell's extension talks. "But they have a lot more resistance than they counted on – and maybe they don't know how the resistance is growing as we speak."

It's no secret that several owners – perhaps a majority – are blaming Goodell for allowing the anthem protests to get out of control.  The owners are watching as one of the most successful pro sports league in history is losing fans and having its brand severely damaged by the protests.

And the protests are only getting worse.  Almost the entire Houston Texans team took a knee during the anthem before yesterday's game, responding to a comment by their owner, Bob McNair, who said the "inmates are running the prison."  The players viewed that comment as racist.  I suppose if you wanted to take it that way, you could (and yes, the players wanted to).  But they didn't address the substance of McNair's criticism.  The players work for the organization, not the other way around.  But you'd never know it by their attitude and actions.

As the article mentions, Goodell has made the owners gobs of money – wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice.  But what the anthem protests are showing is that without strong leadership at the top, all of that can disappear faster than anyone can believe.