Netflix original series America’s Team: The Gambler and his Cowboys was released August 19th, 2025.
#America’sTeam has been viewed 15.2M hours thus far.
rottentomatoes: 100%
imdb: 8.3
Jerry Jones
Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. buys the Dallas Cowboys football team in central Texas.
“Gambling money on oil and gas, of course, is notoriously risky, because it’s miles and miles deep. Well, only God knows what’s down there. Now, in the ’80s, I was really aggressive drilling wells. And I was really good at borrowing money. Too good. If they ever cut me open, that’s all those scars in there trying to pay back what this mouth can borrow. So I was in massive debt. As a matter of fact, it was in excess of $50 million. And I remember my wife called my father-in-law and asked him to come visit with me. She was concerned that I was gonna hurt myself. But I had decided to gamble everything, the most that I’d ever spent on one well in my life, over $800,000.” — Jerry Jones
“When we turned that well on for the first time, I knew it was a gusher when I heard it screaming. It actually screams, it’s so powerful. And then it started spitting just like any mammal would spit. And it started coughing. And then all of a sudden, it started roaring. And it roared like being at Niagara Falls. And with that single well, I made out with $100 million. Now, I always knew what I was gonna do with that money. And I knew it put me in a position that maybe I could realize my ultimate dream.” — Jerry Jones
“So I took that money… …and took a bigger risk than I took drilling that damn well. And I remembered looking at that oil and I said to myself, ‘Jerry, you just bought the Dallas Cowboys.’ Bam! When we were building the Dallas Cowboys, I had a vision of what the game could be. I went to another level of imagination. 1988, I was down in Cabo San Lucas, just lying around, hungover. And I saw in the paper that owner, Bum Bright, was gonna sell the Dallas Cowboys.” — Jerry Jones
“I was gonna go down to Dallas and be the cowboy that rode in on the horse. In every Western, he’s either the hero or the villain. The stranger coming to town. There was a sensitivity in not being a Texan. And it sure as hell didn’t need to be somebody from Arkansas. When I met with Mr. Bright, I wrote down the figure 150 million. That was the highest number in the history of sport. We got down to where we couldn’t agree on about $300,000. And Mr. Bright looked over at me, and he said, ‘I’ll flip you a coin for it.’ He flips the coin. I lose. I lost $300,000. I really got fucked. I own the Dallas Cowboys. Walking into that very first press conference… …you could feel the unease. The knives were out ’cause this was America’s Team. And frankly, if you will, Tom Landry, he was a godlike figure in Dallas. But all of my successes in life was when I was going against the popular move, going the other way.” — Jerry Jones
“I had my eye on a friend of mine from college to coach the Cowboys. Jimmy Johnson. There at Miami, I saw Jimmy’s desire to win. His lack of tolerance for losing, was, in my mind, legendary. Jimmy was controversial. And frankly, I liked that.” — Jerry Jones
Dallas, Texas / Casters
“Copy. 10-4. Over. All right, Mr. Jones, we’ll be touching down in two minutes.”
“Dallas Cowboys are running away with the most valuable team, not in the league, but in the world. Jerry’s team now valued at a whopping $9.2 billion. Forbes magazine says the Dallas Cowboys are the NFL’s most valuable franchise.”
“The ’90s Dallas Cowboys are one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NFL. It’s a supersonic laser blast for a touchdown. That was absolutely nothing but Troy Aikman. What a throw that was from Aikman. It couldn’t have been thrown any better. Touchdown, Michael Irvin! This guy celebrates way too much. Michael Irvin, the man they call the Playmaker.”
“Emmitt Smith has just become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. That young man right there, there’s no doubt in my mind, he is the best, the most complete running back to have played in the NFL. And here’s something by Deion Sanders. When he does get the ball, whether you like him or don’t like him, he does cause excitement. Jimmy Johnson’s taken his team from the absolute worst to the absolute best. The Cowboys are back on top of the mountain now. Barry Switzer, winning his first Super Bowl Title. Dallas, the champions again.”
“Jerry Jones, he’s built a dynasty, but the shine is coming off the star. Troubles for the Cowboys on and off the field. …that many athletes are out of control. Erik Williams was legally intoxicated when he crashed his car. Irvin is now on probation for possession. The so-called White House, whores, money, drugs. …stabbed him with the scissors in the neck. They both get him going back. Novacek runs it in! This baby’s over. Big, big victory for the Dallas Cowboys. Touchdown Emmitt Smith! Oh, what a run by the league’s MVP! Wow. What a ride it’s been.”
“This is the story of a brand-new team on the Texas scene and their fearless leader and head coach, Tom Landry. Tom was obviously a brilliant man, a classy man. There was an aura of mysteriousness about him. Pass to the end zone. Touchdown! It’s ‘The Hammer’ Mike Ditka. Oh, what a catch! America’s Team. America’s Team. Dallas Cowboys have come to be known as America’s Team. After the assassination of John Kennedy, we were known worldwide as the city of hate. But once we started winning, then we became America’s Team.”
“Everywhere we went, the world worshipped the Dallas Cowboys. So they built Texas Stadium. It was a monster. They were no longer just mortals. They were icons. There were… they were gods. The Dallas Cowboys are for sale. For how much? Well, if you have to ask, as the saying goes, you can’t afford it. Cowboys principal owner, Bum Bright, has been engaged in hot discussion with several groups about selling his team. No one here can say for certain if the team has been sold to Arkansas oilman Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones. Not much is known about Jones. Many football fans dismissed Jerry Jones as a rube, sort of a cornpone carpetbagger.”
“Who’s this hick from the sticks, this Jethro Jones? Just what is Jerry Jones’s plan with the Cowboys? This has got disaster written all over it. This is all plotting by Jones to ruin the Cowboys so he can move them to Arkansas. We interrupt this program to bring you the following News 8 Special Report. All right, this is Gerry Oher live at Valley Ranch. The family of, uh, Jerry Jones has begun to enter into the conference room. Bum Bright has been trying to unload the team. And now, finally, live, we will learn the details behind the sale of the Dallas Cowboys.”
“Jimmy Johnson is… obsessed with winning. Despises losing. Eccentric and flawed. He’s a control freak. They are a force, a fury. They are the Hurricanes of Miami. And from any point on the field, at any time, they can strike. Jimmy is the best football coach in the country. And he has as much bravado as anybody in the game. Miami is the best team in the country. And right there is the greatest receiver in Hurricane history. He’s brash, bold, and brazen. It’s caught for a touchdown! Michael Irvin or Michaelangelo? The man they call The Playmaker.”
“Number 47, Michael Irvin. He’s on his way. Touchdown, Miami! Anything coming at me, I catch. You know what I mean? And Irvin. What a catch! Holy cow! Touchdown, Miami. Showing you why they’re number one. There’s a perception that player actions are out of control. Just an attitude of belligerence and hostility and men at war. I just do not believe college football, this isn’t what it’s supposed to be about. Bad guys make for colorful press. Outlaws. Renegades. It’s easy to write. It confirms prejudices. He said, ‘if we get ’em down, don’t let ’em up.’ Jimmy Johnson running up the score. No reason for it.”
“Walsh again is taken care of. Lofting the ball. Irvin is open. Touchdown, Miami. The Hurricanes, an underdog, will win a national championship under coach Jimmy Johnson. Welcome to the 53rd National Football League Draft. Now, as we get set, we could be seeing half of the first round consist of running backs and wide receivers. Drew Pearson, touchdown! Okay, back to Chris Berman. All right, Bino, thank you very much. The Dallas Cowboys are up next. Let’s go to the podium. The commissioner has the card.”
“Dallas Cowboys… …select on the first round… …Marshall Irvin, wide receiver, Miami. Pete Rozelle got the name wrong, but that didn’t matter to the Cowboys because they got their man. Before Jerry had bought the Cowboys, the truth was… …those teams were so hard to watch starting in ’87, ’88, that America’s Team was beginning to crumble.”
George W. Bush
“You know, I grew up in West Texas. And this is football country. When you’re raised in that kind of culture, it is a tradition. It’s just everywhere. And so, I became very attracted to the Cowboys. But when John Kennedy was shot here, Dallas was condemned. So, it became very apparent that there was a need to change the image of Dallas. Tom Landry was a classic example of a kind of guy Texans like. Flew fighter jets in World War II. Went to Highland Park Methodist Church and was part of the community. And then all of a sudden, he puts together a winning team. The city just w– went on fire. They made it to half the Super Bowls in the ’70s. They won twice.”
“A lot of the state fell in love with the Cowboys. Then, of course, nationally, people did. They became America’s Team. The hole in Texas Stadium was so God could watch his favorite team. That would be the Cowboys.”
Jimmy Johnson
“Hi, I’m head coach Jimmy Johnson, and here at University of Miami, you know, the thought may be that there’s a lot of distractions, but our players are able to get a quality education and then on top of that, play championship football. At Miami, our players, they knew that I expected them to kick the shit out of ’em. We weren’t gonna accept anything less. There’s only one way we know how to play the game. Let’s pour it on.”
“Play with class. Play with poise. Play like the best. That’s what you are. We just had that feeling of swagger. And I encouraged them to be so confident that you’re gonna kick somebody’s ass. And no one embodied that more than Michael Irvin. He played with the same swagger. Michael was such a competitor. He had no fear. Plays with a lot of enthusiasm. Irvin’s got it. Irvin’s free. Irvin’s gone! Touchdown, Miami! Get off of him. Control it now.”
“Stretch it out. Stretch it out. People weren’t accustomed to seeing player jumping up and down and celebrating and… and doing all the things that we did. And people hated us because we kicked their ass. I would get hate mail. You, you’re the devil. You’re the devil. And I told our players, ‘they can criticize me all they want because we’re gonna win the National Championship.'”
Michael Irvin ‘The Playmaker’
“Show time. Listen, I was born to play wide receiver. When I was born, the doctor tried to spank me. I caught his hands. You know, Jimmy knows how to pull the best out of every guy. He doesn’t just coach the body. He coaches the mind. And he made practice hell, so the game is heaven. Jimmy would tell me, ‘do you. Do you.’ We were not doing it their way.”
“The era we had in Miami, I don’t know that anyone will ever, ever experience that again. After winning the National Championship, I was ready for the next level. Michael Irvin’s plans for 1988… …is, uh, hopefully to be playing in the NFL.”
“The day before the draft, Jimmy pulls me over. He say, ‘next season, I have a friend that may be buying the Dallas Cowboys. If they call you, that’s where you’re going ’cause I may be joining.’ All my life, I dreamed of playing for the Cowboys. I was the 15th of 17 kids. In the ghetto of Fort Lauderdale, when you were as ‘po’ as we were, you can’t even afford that other O and R. You just say ‘po.’ But we had the Dallas Cowboys… …America’s Team. My dad, he would have a fedora hat on, just like Tom Landry. And I’m gonna tell you something, man. He loved Drew Pearson. Called him Clutch. For every catch he made, my daddy was just so happy. ‘He’s so clutch. Clutch is the man!'”
“He said, ‘son, one day I’m gonna make enough money. We’re gonna go see the Cowboys play.’ But then, my senior year, my dad, he was real sick. He had cancer. And he said, ‘I feel I’m going home on the morning train.’ He said, ‘but you gotta make a promise that you’ll always take care of your mom.’ And so since then, when I used to score, I used to always point up, put two fingers up into the sky. I was telling him that I’m gonna keep my promise to take care of Mom.”
“Dallas Cowboys! Super Bowl bound next year, Super Bowl bound. We’re all gonna fly out to Texas and bring Texas here for the Super Bowl ’cause Dallas gonna get it next year. Hey, and you’re gonna see a lot of this. Two. I remember coming in and that first day, seeing a picture of Tom Landry, and saying, ‘this is my new dad.’ This is my new dad. I got drafted by Tom Landry, man. It was… that was… man, that was everything right there for me, man. That was… that was everything. I had never felt so close to my father. I just came from Miami, so I’ve gone through four years of whooping ass everywhere. I don’t even take defeats. My first game, we’re playing Pittsburgh. Pre-game in the locker room, I’m waiting on a big speech from Coach Landry. ‘Cause, you know, I was used to Jimmy… Jimmy giving those speeches before a game. Tom didn’t give one of those big speeches. He said, ‘let’s get out of here and try to keep this thing close.’ I said, ‘what? That’s it?’ ‘That’s it?’ It– it just seemed like no one cared.”
“The rest of that year, I’m trying to crank it up. Let’s go! Hey, let’s play some ball now, motherfuckers! Let’s go! Yeah! You ain’t gonna beat me! Break ’em! Break ’em! But they were all veterans telling me I need to calm down. And I had guys coming over to me saying, ‘hey, man, come on, man. It’s the pros, Mike. It’s the pros.'”
