Jerry Jones Shows How Much Jason Witten Means To Cowboys With Unbelievable Retirement Gift
After the Cowboys finished last season with a 9-7 record, veteran tight end Jason Witten told reporters he was coming back for another season. A few months later, Witten surprised Cowboys fans by announcing he was retiring to take a job in the broadcast booth.
Even though the announcement took the Cowboys and their fans by surprise, Jerry Jones let Witten know that he appreciated what the future Hall of Famer did for the franchise with a pretty impressive retirement gift.
At the press conference announcing Witten’s retirement, Jones presented him with a diamond-encrusted football. While Jones was posing for pictures with Witten and his family, he let Witten’s wife know that the diamonds were real.
“Michelle,” Jones told Witten’s wife as they were posing for the photo, “These are all real.”
Jones also had a few words of praise for his tight end.
“Of all the owners, heads of networks, coaches, all the people I have met since being in the NFL, Jason Witten is in the top five of all of those as a man,” Jones said.
“His humility and his dependability is unmatched. He walks away from playing professional football the same way he walked in to his profession, confident, willing to outwork anybody, mentally, physically, capable of executing it, very prepared,” Jones added.
Witten, who finished his career in Dallas with 1,1152 receptions, which is the fourth-most in NFL history, and 12,448 receiving yards, got emotional when he announced his retirement.
“I never wanted this day to come. But it does come for all of us,” Witten said. “There’s an old saying in football, the circus doesn’t stay in town forever. The older you get, the more you realize there’s a deeper meaning. It’s better to leave 3 hours too soon than a minute too late.”
“It’s time to pass the torch to the next generation,” he added.
Cowboys fans will still get to see Witten on a weekly basis because he will join ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth as an analyst.
