Background and career
Adam Bernard Jones (born September 30, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. Nicknamed "Pacman", he played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the sixth overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. Jones' career was largely marred by numerous legal issues, and he was suspended from the NFL on two occasions: for the entire 2007 season and for part of the 2008 season due to off the field conduct. Jones has been arrested more times than any other NFL player in the 21st century. The Titans traded away Jones to the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 following his first suspension. After being released by the Cowboys after one season, Jones spent a year away from football before being acquired by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010, where he spent the majority of his career at 8 seasons. With the Bengals, he was a First-Team All-Pro in 2014 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015. After leaving the Bengals in 2017, he played in seven games for the Denver Broncos in 2018 before announcing his retirement in 2019. Outside of football, he has been involved in professional wrestling, boxing and music. During his NFL exile in 2007, he began making appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), but he was prevented from in-ring action by the Titans front office. Despite that, he teamed with Ron Killings as Team Pacman, and they were TNA World Tag Team Champions for over a month. Also in 2007, Jones started up his own record label and was one half of the rap duo Posterboyz. After his retirement from football, Jones began training to be a boxer, but was defeated in his first amateur bout in 2021. During 2023, he made numerous in-studio appearances for The Pat McAfee Show, before co-hosting Runnin' It Back w/ Pac + Zach on BetOnline.
Jones was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised by his mother, Deborah Jones, and his grandmother, Christine Jones. His father was killed in a robbery in 1991 at the age of 26. Jones's mother gave him the nickname "Pacman" when he was a child, saying that he would change direction as fast as the video game character Pac-Man. His nickname was often used more than his given name, to the point where it was represented by a "P" on the back of his Titans jersey. As a child growing up in the Sandtown neighborhood of Atlanta, he was coached by longtime Sandtown coach Gary Jones. When Jones was a freshman at West Virginia University, his grandmother died of cancer. Jones only missed one game of his three-year college career, which was to attend her funeral. On the day of the NFL draft, Jones wore a T-shirt that featured his grandmother's picture. Jones attended Westlake High School, in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2005, Westlake had the most alumni in the NFL with six players. Jones played in the Georgia-Florida all-star game, and was selected as the conference "Player of the Year" following his senior year after totaling 120 tackles, six interceptions and 1,850 rushing yards. In addition to his accomplishments in football, Jones also earned All-American honors in basketball and track. His basketball team won two state championships.
Jones was an Athletic Coaching Education major and a member of the Athletic Director's Academic Honor Roll. As a freshman in 2002, Jones appeared in 11 games for West Virginia as a reserve cornerback and safety. He totaled one interception and one forced fumble with 36 tackles. During 2003, he appeared in all 13 games, starting nine at cornerback, and taking over full-time kick return and punt return duties. Jones's second season resulted in a second-team All-Big East Conference selection with his career-high 89 tackles and four interceptions, one being for a touchdown. He also had six tackles for losses, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He also had a career-high 12 passes deflected that season. In a game against Boston College, Jones scored two touchdowns in a 35–28 win over the Eagles, one an 87-yard kick return and the other, a 47-yard interception return. Jones also had a career-high 12 tackles against Miami. Jones totaled 98 punt return yards on 16 punt returns and 867 kick return yards, including an 87-yard touchdown return. As a junior in 2004, he was the secondary captain and led the team in tackles and interceptions. Jones also played briefly on offense, as well as returning punts and kicks for the second season. He was named first-team all-Big East as a defensive back and honorable mention All-American by several sources. He led the team with 76 tackles, adding two sacks, three interceptions, and seven passes defended. Jones was named to collegefootballnews.com's All-American first-team and was named honorable mention All-American at kick returner. Jones was also named Big East Special Teams Player of the Year. His 76-yard punt return against East Carolina was his longest return and only punt return for a touchdown in Jones's career. Jones ended his college career in the 2005 Gator Bowl, when he fumbled a kick return early in the game; the Mountaineers lost to Florida State. Jones is ranked second on West Virginia's career kickoff return yardage list with 1,475 yards. He is ranked 11th on the school's career punt return yardage list with 404 yards, while his 10.92 yards per punt return is the sixth most in school history. Jones is one of the highest West Virginia players drafted. Jones and fellow-Mountaineer great Major Harris both wore the #9 while playing in college.
After his junior year, Jones opted to forgo his senior year and declare himself eligible for the NFL draft. He was the first defensive player drafted, taken sixth overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2005 NFL draft. He missed most of training camp, holding out in a contract dispute. According to Titans then-general manager Floyd Reese, the Titans were concerned over several off-the-field incidents. In a column for ESPN in 2007, Reese said that contract talks broke down when Jones balked at the Titans' proposed safeguards. However, he agreed that he would not be paid any guaranteed or bonus money if he were convicted of a crime. During his rookie season, he had 44 tackles and 10 pass deflections. On special teams, Jones totaled 1,399 return yards and one touchdown. Jones and Reynaldo Hill were the only rookie duo to start at least 10 games each at cornerback in the NFL. In Jones's sophomore season, he totaled career-high 62 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, 12 deflected passes, four interceptions, 130 return yards, one interception touchdown, 14 passes defended (second-team), 440 punt return yards and tied for NFL-high with three punt return touchdowns. The three punt returns also tied the franchise record with Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, which was set in 1975. His 12.9 yards per punt return average led the NFL, edging out Chicago's Devin Hester by 1/10 of a yard, while his 26.1 yards per kick return average ranked seventh in the league and sixth in the AFC. Jones also caught two passes on offense for 31 yards (one for 17 yards) and rushed twice for eight yards. His best performance came against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 15, when Jones had an 83-yard interception return for a score, a 70-yard kick return, and broke up a touchdown pass to Matt Jones to save the game. Jones broke out in his fifth game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts, when he recorded a season-high five tackles and defended a pass in the 14–13 loss. The next week against the Washington Redskins, Jones recorded four tackles and stripped the ball from Antwaan Randle El for the first forced fumble of his career. The next week against the Houston Texans, Jones tied a career-high tackle total with eight, and picked off a Sage Rosenfels pass for his first career interception, and also posted his second touchdown on a punt return in his career in the fourth quarter with a 53-yard return. Two weeks later, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones recorded his second punt return for a score of the season, a 90-yard run, breaking Billy Johnson's 87-yard franchise record. The next week against the New York Giants, Jones picked off an Eli Manning pass in the fourth quarter that sparked the Titans' 21-point comeback. Against the New England Patriots in the last game of the season, Jones totaled 259 return yards (the NFL's highest total since 2006) along with a punt return score. Despite Jones's breakout second year, speculation was rife during the 2007 NFL draft that the Titans were seriously considering releasing or trading him due to his numerous off-the-field problems. Reese later recalled that he and other Titans front-office officials, as well as league officials, had spent "countless hours" trying to keep Jones out of trouble. Reese added that Jones had been everything the Titans had hoped for on the field, he'd been "nothing but a disaster off the field" during his two years in Nashville, and felt that he was on "a downward spiral." On April 10, 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Jones would be given a one-year suspension for violation of the NFL player conduct policy, to be re-evaluated after the 10th regular-season game, pending disposition of current cases, which Jones appealed. This was the first time in 44 years that a player was suspended for an offense other than substance abuse. Jones took out a full-page ad in The Tennessean, promising he would "win back trust" of his teammates and fans. "To my family, teammates, coaches and fans, I recognize that I have lost the right to ask for your patience and understanding," wrote Jones. "However, I will do everything in my power to regain your trust and respect." Jones also wrote in the letter that he planned to finish his degree at West Virginia University. "The basis of the appeal ... will be to clarify some of the facts and address the unprecedented punishment that was imposed," Jones wrote in the letter. However, on June 12, Jones withdrew his appeal. During his suspension Jones signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), despite an agreement between TNA and the Titans organization that he would only have a "non-physical" role in the company, and went on to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship with Ron Killings. He also established a record label, "National Street League Records", and performed as one half of the rap duo Posterboyz. Ten weeks into the 2007 season, Goodell decided not to reduce Jones's suspension. Following this announcement, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) said that it would appeal Jones's suspension. Tennessee running back LenDale White told The Tennessean that he thought all Titans players wanted Jones to return to the team. Quarterback Vince Young said, "We are going to do well without him, we can do well with him...". On December 13, 2007, the NFL agreed to hear the players union's appeal on Jones's behalf. The players union appealed Goodell's decision to not allow Jones to be reinstated during the 2007 season. On February 1, 2008, ESPN reported that Goodell remained disappointed in Jones and that he would most likely not be reinstated after the Super Bowl. The NFL was to review Jones after the 2008 Pro Bowl. It was also reported that the Titans would try to trade Jones, if reinstated. On March 8, 2008, Jones announced on a Tennessee radio station that he was in "tip-top shape" and said he was ready to be reinstated. His agent also announced that they would consider applying for reinstatement before the 2008 NFL draft. Jones also said on the radio show that he would like to play for the Dallas Cowboys if the Titans desired to trade him. Other teams that expressed interest in Jones were the Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints. On March 30, Jones participated at a charity basketball event, where he signed a football for a fan with the #21, saying that he believed he would wear the number if he ended up in Dallas with the Cowboys. NFL Network correspondent Adam Schefter had also described the Tennessee–Dallas trade for Jones as being "imminent". On April 1, Goodell said he would have a decision on reinstating Jones prior to training camp. However, the next day, reports said the trade was being delayed due to the Cowboys denying the Titans' request to provide a fourth-round pick and a pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Also, the two teams disagreed over whether the Cowboys would reimburse the Titans for a bonus owed to Jones. On April 14, Schefter reported that trade talks had restarted, with the Cowboys offering a sixth-round pick and the Titans requesting a fourth-round pick in the 2008 draft.
On April 23, 2008, Jones was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. As Jones was reinstated for the 2008 season, the Cowboys would give the Titans their sixth-round pick in 2009. Jones also reached a financial settlement with the Titans regarding his contract: he agreed to pay US$500,000 to a charity chosen by the Titans in the next two years. Jones signed a four-year contract that included annual roster bonuses and was structured to protect Dallas if Jones made more off-field mistakes. On April 24, Hall of Famer Jim Brown announced that he had offered his support and help to Jones while in Dallas. Former Cowboys players and NFL standouts Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders also expressed a willingness to help the troubled cornerback. Beginning in June, Jones was cleared to participate in organized team activities with the Cowboys, including training camp and preseason games. On August 26, Jones was fully reinstated for the 2008 NFL season. In the season opener for the Cowboys, a 28–10 victory against the Cleveland Browns, Jones recorded a tackle and a pass deflection. In the following 41–37 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones recorded four tackles and a pass deflection. In a 27–16 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Jones led the Cowboys with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. In October 2008, Jones was suspended for at least four games for an altercation at a Dallas hotel. On November 19, 2008, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the suspended cornerback would be reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell, but he would miss two more games, November 23 and 27, and would return to play December 7 at Pittsburgh. By the time of his return, Jones would be suspended from 22 of a possible 28 games. Due to the suspension, the Titans gave their fifth-round pick to the Cowboys in 2009 and also returned the sixth-round pick to them, as stipulated in terms of the trade. On December 7, 2008, against the Pittsburgh Steelers game, Jones suffered a neck injury, but continued to play. Later that week news reports indicated that the injury was more severe than first believed, and could be a season-ending or career-ending injury for Jones. On December 10, 2008, the Cowboys announced that Jones would probably be out for the rest of the season. However, he returned to play in the Cowboys' final game of the season, a 44–6 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. On January 7, 2009, the Cowboys announced they would release Jones. According to ESPN's Ed Werder, the move came after Cowboys officials learned that Jones was a suspect in a June 2007 shooting outside a strip club in Atlanta. Jones was alleged to have ordered the shooting after a dispute with one of the men. Due to NFL rules which bar major player transactions until after the Super Bowl, the Cowboys did not officially cut ties with Jones until February 9, 2009.
In August 2009, Jones agreed in principle to a one-year deal to play with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. The CFL season, which runs from July through November, was half over at the time. However, on September 2, the Blue Bombers announced they were no longer interested in Jones after he made remarks in an internet video including calling the league the United Football League instead of the Canadian Football League. The startup UFL reportedly offered Jones a contract which he turned down.
