Why Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ $10 million donation to the Clinton Foundation has a story beyond football

Jerry Jones has given $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. The Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager announced the gift at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas, his home state. He grew up in nearby North Little Rock. The Clinton Foundation confirmed it on Monday. The money will go toward modernizing the Clinton Presidential Center and supporting the Clinton School of Public Service, both in Little Rock. Forbes puts Jones's net worth at $23.2 billion, but this donation has little to do with football. It is about home, and the place that made him.Jerry Jones' $10 million donation to the Clinton Foundation goes beyond footballJones announced the gift himself and spoke straight to Clinton while doing it. He said he hoped their work would help young Arkansans, including student-athletes and students, as KATV ABC 7 reported.The Clinton Foundation said the money will pay for modernization work at the Clinton Presidential Center and benefit the Clinton School of Public Service. Both sit in Little Rock. The focus is education, and the audience is Arkansas. That separates this gift from some of his earlier ones, which went to Dallas and Arlington causes.Jones and his wife, Gene, have a long record of giving. The Salvation Army, the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, the Hope Lodge in Dallas and the Arlington Youth Foundation are among the groups they have backed.Jerry Jones ties the gift to his Arkansas rootsJones made the family connection plain in his statement. “Understanding that the state of Arkansas, Little Rock, North Little Rock and the University of Arkansas have all been at the core of our family's experience while providing the landscape and foundation that formed and helped shape our lives and success, this is a remarkably heartfelt moment,” Jones said in a statement.Jones also spoke to the purpose. He pointed to the “impact and opportunity the Clinton Presidential Center delivers for so many students, including student-athletes, with the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, creates a powerful and lasting legacy for education and service that we can all be very thankful for and proud of.”The size of the gift fits his standing. Forbes ranks Jones ninth among the richest U.S. sports team owners. The magazine puts the Cowboys at $17 billion, the most in the NFL, well above the Los Angeles Rams at $13.5 billion in second place. For perspective, $10 million is about 0.04 percent of his reported net worth.The money behind it started in oil. Jones built his early success as a wildcatter, according to Forbes, and earned his first million in oil investments in the 1970s. He still invests in drilling, along with retail and residential real estate projects in and around the Dallas area. So the checks come from a portfolio that reaches well beyond the NFL.Read his statement again and one thing stands out. In the lines he gave, the Cowboys never come up. Jones lists Little Rock, North Little Rock and the University of Arkansas first, then moves to students. For the owner of the NFL's most valuable team, that is a quiet choice.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.