ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 08: Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys watches action prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at AT&T Stadium on November 08, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was among those who profited off of the historic freeze that hit the state of Texas this week.
Record low temperatures and unprecedented winter weather hit the Lone Star State this week, leaving millions without power and water for several days.
Jones’ company, Comstock Resources Inc., reportedly hit the “jackpot” as a result. As demand for natural gas increased during the storm, prices soared, allowing the Cowboys owner’s company to earn huge profits.
“This week is like hitting the jackpot with some of these incredible prices,” Chief Financial Officer Roland Burns said on an earnings call Wednesday, per Bloomberg. “Frankly, we were able to sell at super premium prices for a material amount of production.”
Jones invested $1.1 billion into Comstock two years ago.
Texas freeze allows Jerry Jones' natural gas company to "hit jackpot" https://t.co/4vMq1UA7mX
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 18, 2021
Sports Illustrated writes that this is the kind of thing Jones has “always” done – shrewd business:
Jerry Jones is doing what he has always done: trying to cash in. He is damn good at it. He is a billionaire for a lot of reasons: business acumen, luck, fearlessness and the willingness to do things like jack up the price of natural gas at a time when the people of Texas need it the most.
Others, meanwhile, are criticizing Jones for profiting off of a terrible time in the state.
“As his fellow Texans suffered and even died due to the state’s power outages, Jerry Jones’ natural gas company was gloating about “hitting the jackpot” thanks to skyrocketing gas prices. Billionaires profiting off of human suffering is a feature, not a bug, of our rigged system,” a Berkeley professor wrote on Twitter.
As his fellow Texans suffered and even died due to the state's power outages, Jerry Jones' natural gas company was gloating about "hitting the jackpot" thanks to skyrocketing gas prices.
Billionaires profiting off of human suffering is a feature, not a bug, of our rigged system.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) February 20, 2021
It’s going to be an interesting offseason on and off the field for Jones.
Most notably, the Cowboys have a decision to make on Dak Prescott. Dallas’ franchise quarterback enters the 2021 offseason as a free agent in search of a longterm deal.
