Cowboys Star Fires Back at Jerry Jones Despite Owner Shutting Down CeeDee Lamb’s Demand for $2.1 Billion Stadium

In the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles, backup quarterback Cooper Rush threw a direct pass to the Dallas Cowboys’s star receiver, CeeDee Lamb.

Trailing 7-3 and facing second-and-goal from the Philadelphia Eagles’ 3, Cooper Rush had an open CeeDee Lamb in the end zone for a go-ahead score. This catch was easy as pie for the 25-year-old. However, Lamb missed it. Why?

Because of the glaring light of the sun. The Cowboys settled for a field goal and would not score a point the rest of the game in a 34-6 loss to the Eagles. In such a blowout loss, a second-quarter touchdown might not have mattered much. But that understandably brought the sunlight storyline of the AT&T stadium back to the picture. As obvious, Lamb complained about it, demanding owner Jerry Jones to install curtains at AT&T Stadium.

But it seems that it was too much he asked for, as Jones decided to shut it down. He threw CeeDee Lamb’s suggestion out of the gridiron by saying, “Of all the things that we need to improve, that is way down the list of improvement. That stadium was built to feel like you’re outdoors.” But it seems that the owner’s blunt dismissal is not going to end the conversation around the issue, as one more teammate of Lamb reportedly spoke about it.

The recent one to comment on the matter and explain the real problem to Jerry Jones is the Cowboys’s star receiver, Jalen Tolbert. According to NFL writer Clarence Hill Jr. on X, “Sun talk at AT&T Stadium won’t die in the Cowboys locker room.” He said this because Tolbert recently expressed, “Sometimes you see the sun more than the football.”

It was clear with this statement that Jalen Tolbert was going against what Jerry Jones is trying to make point about. But the question is will this bother the 82-year-old businessman? Maybe not!

This is because earlier when CeeDee Lamb made his request of blocking the sun at the stadium, Jones straightaway made a sarcastic comment. He said, “By the way, we know where the sun is going to be when we flip the coin, so we do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium. Let’s just tear the damn stadium down and build another one. Are you kidding me?” Not only that! Well, if he has to do that, he can afford that, can’t he?

The AT&T Stadium was built between 2006 and 2009 and was opened on May 27, 2009. Back then it took $1.2 billion to construct it. But it would have taken approximately $2.1 billion if they are to build it now. With an estimated net worth of over $15 billion, Jerry does not look too badly placed to fulfill the ask. But no, he is sticking tight to his stand.

“every team that comes in here has the same issues.” Hence, on choosing to not make any changes in the stadium, the LA-born explained his stance: “Every venue has certain things that at certain ways and times can create an advantage. That really goes under the category of home-field advantage. It should be an advantage to the home team. … It has been an advantage for us to know where the sun is. I don’t want to change that,” Jerry had further added, silencing all the talks. But what is there in the stadium that causes the problem?

When the AT&T Stadium was unveiled, the new facility contained a multitude of features that made it a state-of-the-art facility not just for the NFL team, but for sporting contests and entertainment events throughout the year.

For the football team itself, AT&T Stadium features a giant screen, suspended 90 feet above the field and measuring 160 feet wide by 72 feet tall. AT&T Stadium also features 300 suites, one of the world’s largest retractable roofs that can be closed in under 15 minutes, and end zone windows and walls that can be opened depending on the event taking place.

It is basically the angle of the sun rays, which comes in through those end zone windows late in the afternoon as the sun dips into the Texas horizon in the west, that creates the problem.

the layout of AT&T Stadium runs slightly East-West, from slightly northeast on the right side (when looking at the stadium from above) to slightly southwest. For the unversed, most venues are north-south. That is where the angle of the sun, and the resulting glare on the field, comes into play. On clear days, the sun shines in the windows on the west side during the first half of games that kick off in the afternoon.

So, Lamb was looking into the sun in the second quarter while open on a crossing route in the end zone when the throw from Rush went behind him and he never adjusted to the ball. Notably, AT&T do have curtains that are used to host entertainment events such as concerts, and to reduce the glare of the sun. Jon Machota of The Athletic shared an image of those curtains back in April, 2018. But for some reason Jerry keeps pushing it back. You might be thinking that there is a flaw with the design of the stadium. No, it is not. Hear from the makers.

Back in 2016 Bryan Trubey, the executive vice president of sports and entertainment for HKS, the Dallas-based architectural firm that designed AT&T Stadium, told The Dallas Morning News that the sun issues are not because of a building issue in the stadium, but were a part of the bigger plan for the feel of the stadium. What feel, exactly?

“So when we were laying out the stadium one thing we wanted to do was make sure the end zones were completely open. It was one of the keys to making sure the stadium did something that no other stadium has ever done before or done since. It transforms from an indoor, 80,000-seat arena to what feels like an outdoor stadium,” Trubey had said in 2016.

“That’s the reason the end zones are open and the orientation is the way it is because that’s the absolute best alignment to play out the final master plan and in creating the most value in the land around the stadium itself,” he had further added. But given that the Cowboys play their home games there and therefore face the issue at least seven times a season, if not more, it is hard to call it an advantage, as Jerry claimed.

A couple of days ago, NFL insider Tom Pelissero met the Cowboys’s star tight end, Jake Ferguson to talk about the Sun issue and their demands. And guess what? The TE gave a hilarious response after CeeDee Lamb’s incident. Pelissero, who recently appeared at the
The Rich Eisen Show stated that Ferguson informed him that he caught the football under the glaring Texas sun with the help of a formula. What is it?

Well, that is, in Jake Ferguson’s words, “catching the black spot.” Yes! According to the athlete, when the eyes are blinded by the sun, all you need to do is follow a formula for catching the black spot – the football. At least, that’s the way he does in such games! But jokes apart, Lamb has more voices to add to his sun-concern.

Jerry Jones’ AT&T is beautiful until you face the demons!

Travis and Jason Kelce have joined the people slamming the problems with the sun at the Arlington stadium, often referred to as the eighth wonder. The brothers talked about the glare issues in Jerry World on their New Heights podcast and didn’t hold back.

“Playing in that stadium, I’ve f*****g had that problem before,” said Travis, who plays tight end for the Chiefs. “That f*****g glare coming through that end zone in the afternoon is f*****g ridiculous.” Jason agreed. Jason, a former Eagle who played his fair share of games at AT&T Stadium, called for shades, echoing Lamb.

“‘The world knows where the sun is,’” Kelce said in an apparent jab at Jerry Jones. “Yeah, and so do architects and people that build stadiums, and usually you try to avoid the fact the sun might be directly in your receiver’s eyes.” Notably, Travis pointed out that Arlington is not the only place where he’s experienced issues with the sun.

According to him, glare can also be an issue at the outdoor Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. “There is a time if there is a noon game that in the first and second quarter, maybe peeking into the third quarter, that you’re going to get that sun coming across the field,” Kelce said. But both Kelces agreed on one point.

The AT&T stadium does look beautiful with those sunrays coming in. “It does look beautiful, and I love playing at Cowboys Stadium when that’s happening. It makes it feel really cool until you miss a touchdown,” Travis joked. The Cowboys will once again go under the sun of their home stadium on Monday night to take on the Houston Texans.