While Deion Sanders’s battle with cancer is widely known, far fewer people realize that Jerry Jones, his former employer and the Cowboys’ longtime owner, fought the very same disease. His battle didn’t take place recently, though. Nearly 15 years ago, Jones quietly endured cancer, never sharing it publicly at the time. The story only slipped out years later, when emotions got the better of him.
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Back then, medical treatments weren’t as advanced as they are today, and Jones couldn’t lean on the conventional methods cancer patients often rely on now. Instead, he and his family sought an unconventional path. Thanks to his wealth and connections, he gained access to an experimental treatment not yet available to the public, bi-monthly injections that ultimately pushed the disease into remission. The effects of that therapy are still visible today, according to him.
Reflecting on his journey in a candid conversation with Stephen A. Smith, Jones spoke with gratitude, acknowledging that while the worst is behind him, many others still face tougher battles. That perspective, he says, keeps him positive.
When Stephen A. asked how owning and running the Cowboys factored into his recovery, Jones pointed to meditation as the key. Meditation, he explained, gave him balance, resilience, and a deeper appreciation for life. Being around the team and the sport he loved became a source of strength during his fight.
For Jones, buying the Cowboys was never just an investment; it was a lifelong passion project. Meditation helped him channel that passion productively. But he stressed that true meditation isn’t something just anyone can do. It requires preparation, discipline, and, above all, positivity.
Positivity, in Jones’s view, doesn’t mean blocking out negativity; it means equipping yourself to handle it. His method? Surround yourself with people who test your patience or rile you up, but instead of wishing them harm, choose to wish them well. That practice, he believes, helped him stay grounded and ultimately helped him beat cancer.
“One of the biggest things to do to learn how to meditate is pick the people or persons that you know what the most. Pick the one that can really razz you negatively. Pick them and wish them the greatest life in the world. Wish them to win the Emmys, to have a leading lady to be in great movie. Wish them the very best.”
Now we know why Jerry Jones remains so positive and seemingly unbothered by the constant jabs thrown his way. People call him colorful names, question his decisions, and urge him to retire or sell the team, but he never flinches. He stands tall in the face of criticism, grounded by his outlook on life. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that having billions in the bank makes it a lot easier to ignore the noise.
