Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gives big last-minute donations to GOP’s Abbott, Patrick, Paxton

AUSTIN — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has made several last-minute donations to Republicans, giving $900,000 to the GOP candidates at the top of the ballot: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Jones gave $200,000 donations to Patrick and Paxton, according to daily campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Previously, Jones gave $500,000 to Abbott’s campaign. He also threw an Oct. 12 campaign fundraiser for Abbott at the Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco.

Jones’ donations come as all three Republicans are up for election Tuesday, with each seeking a third term. For Abbott, significant donations from big money Texans have helped the two-term incumbent maintain a financial advantage over Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke.

Jones and the Cowboys did not comment but confirmed the donations. Jones has a history of donating to political candidates from both parties as well as political action committees, though those are made on the federal level.

Opening his personal checkbook to Abbott, Patrick and Paxton appears to be a turn for the owner of the NFL’s most valuable franchise. Prior to this election cycle, Jones’ only donation to any of the three was an $8,356 event expense reported by Abbott’s campaign, Texas Ethics Commission records indicated.

This year, Jones also gave roughly $110,000 to HillCo PAC, which is connected to a firm that does a wide array of lobby work in Austin, including representing the Dallas Cowboys. He also gave $25,000 to Republican Luisa Del Rosal, who lost to Dallas Rep. John Turner in 2020.

Jones and representatives of several Dallas-area professional sports teams, including the Mavericks and Texas Rangers, organized the Sports Betting Alliance in a push to legalize sports betting in 2021. Their efforts at the Legislature failed, but the organization remains active.

Jones is not the only professional sports franchise owner to donate to candidates this election cycle.

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who also owns casinos and is chairman of the University of Houston board of regents, has given more than $1 million to numerous politicians this year, including $500,000 to Abbott, $200,000 to Patrick and $20,000 to Paxton.