Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning couldn’t help but poke fun at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones amid Dallas’ woeful 2024-25 campaign.

On Wednesday, Manning took the stage at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to host the Country Music Awards for the third consecutive year. It didn’t take long, however, for the night’s focus to shift from music to football.

During the opening monologue, country music star and fellow co-host Lainey Wilson took a moment to heap praise on Kelsea Ballerini, whose song ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ featuring Noah Kahan was a finalist for musical event of the year. “Come on, give it up for Kelsea,” Wilson said. “This is the year we discovered that cowboys cry, too.”

Sensing a golden opportunity, Manning chimed in: “Alright, that’s enough about Jerry Jones.” The unsubtle dig promptly drew a round of laughs from the audience, as well as a grimacing facial expression from co-host Luke Bryan.

Manning is hardly the first person to take a verbal shot at Jones amid the Cowboys’ disappointing season. Entering Week 12, Dallas boasts a meagre 3-7 record – good for third place in the NFC East.

Amidst the Cowboys’ immense struggles, Jones has done little to hide his frustrations – at times getting into heated disagreements with members of the media and even some of his own players. The erratic behavior has caught the attention of ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, who likened the billionaire to President Joe Biden.

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Jerry Jones insisted that he's capable of being the Cowboys owner amid concerns about his health

Jerry Jones insisted that he’s capable of being the Cowboys owner amid concerns about his health ( 

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“I’m getting very, very worried about Jerry Jones because the only thing that’s worse than the team’s play is his press conferences, or whatever you want to call it when he is in front of the reporters, where he says one thing after another after another,” Smith said.

“I find myself thinking about Joe Biden before he backed out of running for re-election and listen, he’s only one month, I think Jerry is one month older than President Joe Biden for crying out loud. I remember when I was on the airwaves, literally guys, 9-10 months ago, and was like, ‘Yo he can’t be the nominee, he can’t make it to the Democratic National Convention, y’all got to change, y’all got to do something to change.’”

Addressing Smith’s comments on Thursday, Jones asserted that he’s more than capable of still fulfilling his duties as Cowboys owner. “I would say if he had asked me that question relative to the issue or the criticism that Biden had about his ability to function, I wish he would follow me around every day. And he would see that I’m the busiest that I’ve ever been in my life,” he said.

“I’m not concerned about the ability to do the work, to do the job. I just made a quick 14-hour trip back and forth to New York yesterday for a league meeting. But my point is, I’d love to have him just sit beside us for a day and make the rounds. And have him listen to me field the calls. And do the kinds of things we do and we wouldn’t worry about me there. But I do appreciate his concern. And, by the way, it is genuine.”