Jerry Jones told Roger Goodell he would make Patriots owner Bob Kraft look like a 'p----' in fighting Ezekiel Elliott's suspension

Ron Jenkins/AP

• Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell he would come after him with everything he had for suspending Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
• Jones told Goodell he would make New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft look like a "p---y" for how he fought Tom Brady's suspension in Deflategate.
• Jones is now carrying out an attack on Goodell, seeking to halt a contract extension and threatening legal action against other owners.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made an ominous threat in August to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell when he was told the league was suspending running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games over domestic violence allegations, according to ESPN's Don Van Natta and Seth Wickersham.

Jones, over the phone, reportedly told Goodell and general counsel Jeff Pash, "I'm gonna come after you with everything I have."

Jones then reportedly brought up Deflategate and how the New England Patriots fought Tom Brady's four-game suspension for allegedly scheming to deflate footballs. Jones told Goodell, "If you think Bob Kraft came after you hard, Bob Kraft is a p---y compared to what I'm going to do."

The exchange was the tipping point for what's become a messy internal war among the league and team owners.

In November, Jones reportedly threatened team owners with legal action if they passed a contract extension for Goodell. Besides for Jones' issue with Elliott's suspension, he was unhappy with league leadership over issues like player protests during the national anthem. Additionally, Jones believed Goodell was overpaid.

Jones, who was briefly an ad hoc member of the NFL's competition committee before getting kicked off for his legal threats, was reportedly sent a cease-and-desist warning by the committee. Jones recently suggested he would not back down.

As one NFL owner told Sports Illustrated's Peter King, he believes Jones wants to "overthrow" Goodell. It's an issue that has been simmering for months, and is just now coming to the surface.