Among Very Few Other Things, Cowboys Actually Good at Not Getting Arrested

Since 2000, Dallas Cowboys players have been arrested only 14 times, well below league average, according to a report compiled by The New York Times' The Upshot blog from USA Today data. NFL players have had 713 reported legal run-ins since USA Today started the database in January 2000. (It's...

By Stephen Young

September 15, 2014

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Since 2000, Dallas Cowboys players have been arrested only 14 times, well below league average, according to a report compiled by The New York Times' The Upshot blog from USA Today data.

NFL players have had 713 reported legal run-ins since USA Today started the database in January 2000. (It's maintained by sports writer Brent Schrotenboer.) The average squad has seen 22 incidents, while players for the most-arrested team, the Minnesota Vikings, have been on the wrong side of the law 44 times -- including the child abuse arrest of Palestine's Adrian Peterson last week and the four Vikings accused as part of the infamous "love boat" party in 2005.

The most common offenses NFL players are arrested for? DWI or DUI, which accounts for 202 of the arrests, assault and battery (88), domestic violence (85) and drug charges (82).

The data also shows geographic differences in arrest rates and the types of crimes for which players are arrested. The two New York teams, the Jets and Giants, have comparatively low rates of driving under the influence, which the Times surmises may be because of the lack of an entrenched car culture in New York City.

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