John Jones (American football executive)

At the conclusion of his masters degree, Jones was hired as the editor of the Ray Nitchke's Packer Report, a newspaper dedicated to coverage of the Green Bay Packers and named after Ray Nitschke, a former Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker for the Packers. Jones served in this position for two years until he took a position in 1976 as an instructor of journalism at his alma mater, Loyola. In 1978, he began working for the New Orleans Times-Picayune as a journalist. For the next 9 years, Jones became an award-winning journalist, recognized by the Louisiana Sports Writers' Association for his writing and editing. During his time at the newspaper, he covered the National Football League (NFL) and the New Orleans Saints in-depth.[1]

As a journalist, Jones wrote a number of articles covering the negotiations between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, which Jack Donlan, then the director of the NFL Management Council, read. Impressed by his coverage, Donlan hired Jones in 1987 as the Council's director of public relations. In this role, Jones served as a spokesperson for the NFL during the 1987 NFL strike. In 1989, he was promoted to the director of operations. Jones left the Council in 1994, returning two years later in 1996 as the director of administration and information, a position he would hold until 1999.[1] During his first stint with the Council, Jones helped develop a Collective Bargaining Agreement that initiated a salary cap system for the NFL. He also assisted on a settling all player anti-trust lawsuits that had been levied against the NFL. In his second stint, he continued his work related to the salary cap by working closely with NFL teams on its administration and management.[2]

In between his two stints with the NFL Management Council, Jones was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were a newly formed expansion team. He served as their executive director of administration from 1994 to 1996.[1] Jones, who worked under the team's vice president for football operations, was initially hired to manage the Jaguars' salary cap and player contracts.[3]

Packers president Bob Harlan hired Jones as the team's senior vice president of administration in 1999.[4] He served in that role until 2001, when he was promoted to vice president and chief operating office (COO). Harlan had been grooming Jones to succeed him as president and CEO. Based upon an agreed upon plan reviewed by the Packers board of directors, Jones was elected as the 10th president of the Packers, although Harlan retained the position of chief executive officer (CEO) until the latter's planned retirement in May 2007.[5] The goal was to provide Jones a transition period to continue to assume additional responsibilities before taking over completely. Just days before Harlan's planned retirement, Jones was placed on an indefinite leave of absence from the organization.[6] In July 2007, the Packers announced Jones' departure from the organization and that Harlan would continue leading the organization as CEO with the presidency remaining vacant until a replacement was selected.[7][8] The Packers ultimately reached a financial agreement with Jones that led to his formal resignation from the team.[9][10] Although his health and recent heart operation were noted as the official reasons for leaving the team, numerous articles reported on Jones' management style as a major contributor to his resignation. Mark Murphy was elected in December 2007 and assumed the presidency and CEO roles in January 2008.[11]

During his time with the Packers, Jones worked in almost every area of the organization with a focus on financial management, facilities and other non-football team operations. Immediately after being hired in 1999, Jones worked closely with Harlan on a $295 million plan to renovate Lambeau Field. Funding for the plan came primarily from a half-cent sales tax of Brown County, Wisconsin. Harlan and Jones advocated strongly across the state for the passing of the referendum necessary to authorize the tax, noting the necessity of the redevelopment of Lambeau Field for the long-term financial stability of the Packers. After the tax was authorized, Jones worked to secure additional funding sources, including initiating the team's 4th stock sale and securing a loan from the NFL. Jones helped lead the redevelopment project, which started in 2001 and was completed in 2003. The redevelopment helped make Lambeau Field a year-round destination and a new atrium provided space for events, retail and an expanded Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. In the subsequent years, the Packers saw a windfall in profits that helped grow the team's emergency fund and keep the team financially competitive with larger market NFL teams. Based on his past experience on the salary cap, stadium and other facility development and his roles in the non-football side of the business, Jones was named to numerus boards and committees, including the NFL Stadium Committee, the NFL Business Ventures board of directors and the NFL's Revenue Sharing Committee. Although relatively brief, Jones' tenure with the Packers was marked by a significant increase in the team's financial stability and the completion of the largest expansion of Lambeau Field up to that point.