The NFL is demanding reimbursement in excess of $2 million from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for court costs related to star running back Ezekiel Elliott's suspension and Jones' threatened litigation over commissioner Roger Goodell's contract, sources told ESPN's Dan Graziano.
The owners are citing a rule that has been on the books for more than two decades, that says if an owner participates in bringing litigation against other owners, he must reimburse them for the legal fees.
An earlier report by The New York Times characterized the reimbursement as a fine to be levied on Jones by Goodell.
The league will order Jones to pay all fees that the compensation committee incurred while legally defending itself from the longtime Cowboys owner's threats to sue over the extension of Goodell's contract. The Cowboys never followed through on that suit. Jones will also have to compensate the NFL for all its legal fees spent defending the Elliott suspension.
The reimbursement action was generated by fellow owners, not Goodell, and has been approved by the league's finance committee, sources told Graziano.
Jones clashed with Goodell and the league on multiple issues in 2017. Jones was a vocal advocate of delaying a contract extension for Goodell and proposed on Dec. 1 to implement a six-month moratorium on finalizing the deal. Jones also threatened to sue the league if the compensation committee approved Goodell's extension, and was publicly critical of Elliott's six-game suspension.
The Cowboys did not offer a comment when contacted by ESPN.