Jerry Jones is loud, blunt, petulant and narcissistic.

But, he’s also, sometimes, right.

And in the exclusive lodge that is NFL ownership, not to mention 345 Park Ave. in New York, where the league headquarters are located, that combination doesn’t always go over well.

So, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that Jones has the temerity to take on commissioner Roger Goodell or that Goodell, with the backing of several owners, has come gunning for the Dallas Cowboys’ owner and his wallet.

The scenario has been brewing since last fall, when Goodell’s controversial contract turned into a prolonged tug-of-war with you-know-who initiating the tugging after a suspension was announced for Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott.

What we didn’t know until Monday’s report in the New York Times was whether they’d arrive brandishing pistols or shotguns.

It is the latter, with, according to the Times and other sources, Jones expected to be cited for crossing “unspoken” lines of decorum and be required to ante $2 million or more. The amount expected to approximate the legal fees that the compensation committee spent defending itself, as well as the costs the league paid to defend its decision to sit Elliott for six games over domestic abuse issues.

What we have here is a fundamental clash of styles. Jones, who has said he views “business as a contact sport” believes leaving his sentiments unspoken is a crime of omission. His billionaire brethren value holding their tongues — in public, at least — and adhering to their sense of decorum.

But Jones didn’t see the Cowboys become the most highly valued franchise in pro sports — according to Forbes, going from

his initial $140 million investment to $4.2 billion — by being a wallflower or gently tip-toeing around “unspoken” boundaries.

Whatever the motivation, Jones was right to challenge the rubber stamp nature and argue — successfully as it eventually turned out — that Goodell’s contract should be predicated more on performance-based incentives than guarantees. As much as 90 percent of the five-year $200 million deal will require Goodell to hit specified targets. “No easy layups,” as Jones put it at the time.

Jones was on less solid ground in going to the mat for Elliott, whose appeal in federal court was turned down.

But, then, Jones’ nearly 30 years in the NFL have been marked by a streak of insurgency.

The ink was barely dry on his purchase of the Cowboys when he led a faction of owners in opposing and ultimately derailing Jim Finks as Pete Rozelle’s successor as commissioner. Paul Tagliabue eventually won the job.

By force of personality Jones also shanghaied TV negotiations but, in the process, also forced the networks to be more competitive and put millions more in moolah in the teams’ pockets.

Then, there was the time he pulled the Cowboys out of a league-wide licensing deal that prompted the other owners to file a multi-million-dollar suit against him. He countered with a larger suit of his own, forcing the NFL to settle with him. When the dust settled, owners discovered he had led them down a more lucrative path for all concerned.

As much as Jones often rubs his fellow owners and NFL brass the wrong way — and often fails to hide his delight in doing so — the NFL would be a poorer and more boring place without him.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.