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Charlotte Jones Anderson, daughter of Cowboys owner, is rising star in NFL
The most influential woman in the NFL, daughter of one of the most powerful owners in the league, is all about hoops this weekend.
Charlotte Jones Anderson is chairing the host committee for this weekend’s Final Four basketball tournament — dealing with governmental and civic issues and the NCAA — which, by the way, is being played in her father’s AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Anderson, whose full-time job is executive vice president and chief brand officer of the Cowboys, is the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. “The basketball has been an exciting challenge,” she said. “We are pretty confident we can run a big event since we are used to bringing in 80,000 people.”
At the NFL meetings in Orlando last week, I asked her what’s been tougher: Being able to make a name for herself as Jones’ daughter or being a woman in a league dominated by male executives.
Being her father’s daughter got her vote.
“When your dad has such a presence and image and impact the way that he has in sport and with the NFL, he casts a very large shadow,” she said. “With that shadow, he cast a lot of opportunity, too.”
Anderson doesn’t deny that her dad owning the Cowboys opened many doors for her. “My response to that is, ‘Yes, my dad got me here, but I kept myself here,’” she said. “He’s not necessarily the easiest to work for. He has high demand, high expectation, he is constantly moving and he is constantly looking for new ideas. To be able to hold your own and create value to where he has to have you here, I feel like I brought that to the table on my own. I have always been able to balance that and justify that in our own world and have never really paid attention to what other people might perceive that as. That’s the only way you get through it. You just keep your head down and keep moving your needle forward.”
Anderson, a mother of three, is a rising star in the NFL. Roger Goodell appointed her the chairperson of the recently created NFL Foundation, which is involved in health and safety in sports and youth football. With the Cowboys, she’s in charge of the brand. “My primary responsibility is the growth and expansion of a franchise steeped in tradition, being able to grow that and still acknowledge the tradition of the past but take us into different areas that we haven’t been before,” she said.
Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989, but Anderson didn’t come to Dallas right away. She was one year out of Stanford and working for Arkansas congressman Tommy Robinson in Washington. The Cowboys went 1-15 in Jones’ first season, and the only victory came against the Redskins on the road. “That was great,” Anderson said. “That made the elevator rides a lot easier on The Hill.”
Her political work, she said, “prepares you in a lot of ways when you work for challenging and controversial people. It allows you to build a lot of character along the way.”
Anderson’s brothers Stephen and Jerry Jr., work for the Cowboys, too. Her father gave her confidence by always telling her there was “no ceiling” for what she could accomplish with hard work, and she has never worried about being a woman in the male-dominated NFL board rooms.
“I don’t know that my voice is stronger,” she said. “My voice is different. My perspective is different.”
She has been working for the Cowboys for a long time now, so naturally she’s had some run-ins with the boss. I asked her how many times she’s threatened to quit on her father. “Actually, I have several times,” she said.
The initial battle came at the first Super Bowl of the Jones-Jimmy Johnson era following the 1992 season. The game was being played at the Rose Bowl, and Jones had promised tickets to friends and approached his daughter for help coming up with them.
“I don’t have it,” she said.
“Well, you have to go find them,” he said.
“I don’t have them. We don’t have them. They don’t exist,” she said.
“You better make it happen. That’s what you’re supposed to do,” he said.
“You better find someone else, because I quit,” she said.
Anderson laughed telling this story. Families can push each other just a little bit further. But chances are if Jones needs to find extra tickets to the Final Four this weekend, he will know who to ask.
The most influential woman in the NFL, daughter of one of the most powerful owners in the league, is all about hoops this weekend.
Charlotte Jones Anderson is chairing the host committee for this weekend’s Final Four basketball tournament — dealing with governmental and civic issues and the NCAA — which, by the way, is being played in her father’s AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Anderson, whose full-time job is executive vice president and chief brand officer of the Cowboys, is the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. “The basketball has been an exciting challenge,” she said. “We are pretty confident we can run a big event since we are used to bringing in 80,000 people.”
At the NFL meetings in Orlando last week, I asked her what’s been tougher: Being able to make a name for herself as Jones’ daughter or being a woman in a league dominated by male executives.
Being her father’s daughter got her vote.
“When your dad has such a presence and image and impact the way that he has in sport and with the NFL, he casts a very large shadow,” she said. “With that shadow, he cast a lot of opportunity, too.”
Anderson doesn’t deny that her dad owning the Cowboys opened many doors for her. “My response to that is, ‘Yes, my dad got me here, but I kept myself here,’” she said. “He’s not necessarily the easiest to work for. He has high demand, high expectation, he is constantly moving and he is constantly looking for new ideas. To be able to hold your own and create value to where he has to have you here, I feel like I brought that to the table on my own. I have always been able to balance that and justify that in our own world and have never really paid attention to what other people might perceive that as. That’s the only way you get through it. You just keep your head down and keep moving your needle forward.”
Anderson, a mother of three, is a rising star in the NFL. Roger Goodell appointed her the chairperson of the recently created NFL Foundation, which is involved in health and safety in sports and youth football. With the Cowboys, she’s in charge of the brand. “My primary responsibility is the growth and expansion of a franchise steeped in tradition, being able to grow that and still acknowledge the tradition of the past but take us into different areas that we haven’t been before,” she said.
Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989, but Anderson didn’t come to Dallas right away. She was one year out of Stanford and working for Arkansas congressman Tommy Robinson in Washington. The Cowboys went 1-15 in Jones’ first season, and the only victory came against the Redskins on the road. “That was great,” Anderson said. “That made the elevator rides a lot easier on The Hill.”
Her political work, she said, “prepares you in a lot of ways when you work for challenging and controversial people. It allows you to build a lot of character along the way.”
Anderson’s brothers Stephen and Jerry Jr., work for the Cowboys, too. Her father gave her confidence by always telling her there was “no ceiling” for what she could accomplish with hard work, and she has never worried about being a woman in the male-dominated NFL board rooms.
“I don’t know that my voice is stronger,” she said. “My voice is different. My perspective is different.”
She has been working for the Cowboys for a long time now, so naturally she’s had some run-ins with the boss. I asked her how many times she’s threatened to quit on her father. “Actually, I have several times,” she said.
The initial battle came at the first Super Bowl of the Jones-Jimmy Johnson era following the 1992 season. The game was being played at the Rose Bowl, and Jones had promised tickets to friends and approached his daughter for help coming up with them.
“I don’t have it,” she said.
“Well, you have to go find them,” he said.
“I don’t have them. We don’t have them. They don’t exist,” she said.
“You better make it happen. That’s what you’re supposed to do,” he said.
“You better find someone else, because I quit,” she said.
Anderson laughed telling this story. Families can push each other just a little bit further. But chances are if Jones needs to find extra tickets to the Final Four this weekend, he will know who to ask.
