Cowboys players compare being a part of Dallas' brand, with its sprawling facility and massive stadium, to the NFL's version of Disney World and Hollywood. Jones likens it to Broadway.
At the start of each season, the Cowboys communications team gives a presentation to players with detailed broadcast and social media audience numbers, to teach how much tighter the lens on them is because they play for the Cowboys. Jones does the same in his first meeting with players each year: "I [tell them], 'When you come in, look around. You'll see fans everywhere. ... This will lift your level of expectation about your own play.' If it doesn't work for some players, then they're either not successful or, let's say, they move on down the line."
Players who do move on often arrive at a similar realization.
"I'm smiling ... when I walk in the building here, I just know, like, I just have work," said six-year Cowboys defensive end Dorance Armstrong of his new team, the Washington Commanders.
"This is more about football, just X's and O's," running back Tony Pollard, who spent five seasons with the Cowboys, says about his new team, the Tennessee Titans. "I'm in a better place mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, just all around."
"Over here [in Kansas City] ... the point is the football and winning championships," says cornerback Kelvin Joseph, who was with the Cowboys for two seasons before moving to the Chiefs this offseason (He is now a member of the Colts). "There [in Dallas], it was a lot of football and like, other stuff."
