Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut

by Ken Belson

From veteran New York Times Business & NFL reporter, Ken Belson, a deeply-reported account of how the NFL’s Commissioner, Roger Goodell, and its two most powerful owners, Jerry Jones & Robert Kraft, turned the league into a cultural phenomenon.

On February 11, 2024, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, & the league’s two most powerful owners, Jerry Jones & Robert Kraft, looked down at the spectacle before them. What they saw was the sport’s championship game, the Super Bowl—now a de facto national holiday—being played in a shiny new $2B stadium, home to the first franchise based in Las Vegas, after the league’s embrace of nationwide gambling. The moment was over 30 years in the making. As one of Goodell's colleagues “Roger doesn’t view the other leagues as competition. He wants to be mentioned with Disney and the Vatican, these massive institutions.”

In Every Day Is Sunday, Ken Belson traces the evolution of the league from “one of the four US professional sports,” to the superpower it is today. Belson illustrates how the league’s rise coincided with the arrival of Jones & Kraft in the early 90’s. He provides an inside look on how these two men reshaped the league, taking readers into the secretive owner’s meeting, how they decided Goodell was the right man to place as Commissioner, and how the three built, wielded, and held on to their collective power.

Perfect for fans of The Dynasty and Big Game, Belson provides a unique peek behind the curtain of how America’s favorite sport achieved its status—and how these three men let nothing stand in their way.

Genres: Sports, Football

Audible Audio

Published October 14, 2025

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Belson's Every Day is Sunday is a careful examination of the managerial class of the NFL. it traces the growth of the NFL from the early 90s to the present with a focus on its revenue streams. The protagonists are not quarterbacks and linebackers but executives, owners, and commissioners. Belson is an insider and his access allows him to portray central figures such as Roger Goodell, Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Rupert Murdoch. Belson's portrait is balanced without condemning the NFL for its capitalist wiles. Perhaps he should, but that is not his task. Fans of sports and sports business will learn a great deal from this book even if their ire for the sport's owners is inflamed. Belson's prose is lucid, a testament to the countless words he has penned as a journalist.

[John Schorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read any long-form stories about the past 20 years of the NFL, there isn't a thing in this book that will strike you as groundbreaking or even new. The league is run by a bunch of owners who join with their figurehead commissioner to make billions of dollars while paying mere lip service to the idea of caring about players or fans. As for the fans, all we care about is football every Sunday in the fall. There are times where you wonder what would happen if the bottom dropped out on all this... but it's doubtful it would take place any time soon.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

New York Times reporter Ken Belson looks into how the NFL has become a mega-business over the last 30 years, driven particularly by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Commissioner Roger Goodell. He looks at how they’ve maximised TV deals, minimised labour costs and seized on opportunities like legalised gambling. A fascinating read and a worthy update to titles like Michael Oriard's Brand NFL and David Harris's The League.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a business of football nerd, it is definitely in your wheelhouse. I found it easy to read and insightful.