Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones led a conference call with 17 NFL owners on Thursday to discuss the possibility of halting commissioner Roger Goodell's pending contract extension.

The owners on Thursday's conference call are unhappy with Goodell and the NFL's front office for a variety of reasons, including the player protests staged during the national anthem, issues regarding the relocation of teams to Los Angeles and the league's handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case, sources told ESPN.

'You don't get to have this many messes over the years like Roger has had and survive it,' one owner said during the call.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, left, led a conference call with 17 NFL owners on Thursday to discuss the possibility of halting commissioner Roger Goodell's contract extension, right

Sources have previously said that Jones has tried to stand in the way of any extension for Goodell.

Last month, ESPN reported that Jones was impeding the progress of contract negotiations aimed at an extension for Goodell. 'If not for Jerry,' one owner said last month in regard to the contract negotiations, 'this deal would be done.'

The tension between Jones and Goodell is in part credited to the commissioner giving Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott a six-game suspension, which is currently being disputed in court.

Another factor in the frustration with Goodell is the controversy surrounding players kneeling during the national anthem.

Goodell won’t mandate the players to stand while Jones is threatening Cowboys onto their feet.

Earlier this month, Jones said that any of his players who 'disrespect' the flag won't be allowed to play.

'I know this, we cannot...in the NFL in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,' Jones, also the team's general manager, said after a 35-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers on October 8.

The previous week, Jones knelt along with head coach Jason Garrett and all their players in the middle of the field on September 26 in a show of unity before they all stood for the anthem before their 28-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

'Spoke to Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. Jerry is a winner who knows how to get things done. Players will stand for Country!' President Trump tweeted.

On the other side of the debate, Goodell strongly backed the players and criticized Trump for 'an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL.'

Jones knelt alongside his players on September 26 in a show of unity before they all stood for the anthem. The following week he said any of his players who 'disrespect' the flag won't be allowed to play

On the other side of the debate, Goodell strongly backed the players and criticized Trump for 'an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL'

The NFL would need 24 owners to approve Goodell's ouster, making it a tall order.

'I'd be very surprised about wanting to change Roger. I'd be shocked about that,' a league source who was not on the call said.

Goodell's contract that was expected to be completed in September has not been finalized as November is days away.

'Maybe Arthur [Blank, the head of the compensation committee] and that committee think they're on track,' an owner said about Goodell's extension talks.

'But they have a lot more resistance than they counted on -- and maybe they don't know how the resistance is growing as we speak.'

In a recent ESPN The Magazine story, Texans owner Bob McNair was quoted saying, 'We can't have the inmates running the prison.' The comment caused some Texans players to leave the facility on Friday.

'We just don't have enough problem solvers,' another NFL owner said. 'We gotta get it right or we're just going to let it burn.'

After few decisions were made during the owners' most recent meetings on October 17 and 18 in New York, last week's conference call detailed some of the issues they have with the league and Goodell.

'That was our recurring theme, that there's no leadership,' said another executive familiar with Thursday's conference call.

'Everyone [in the league office] is trying to win the latest news cycle, and there's no long-term vision. It's just, "How can we minimize the bad headlines, maximize the revenue and move on to the next day?" And there's an increasing frustration to that approach.'

Sources declined to identify the specific teams represented on the call.

When asked whether the NFL is at the edge of a cliff with its mounting troubles and the uncertainty regarding the future of Goodell role as commissioner, an owner countered that it was a 'great opportunity.'

'We're not on the edge of destruction,' the owner said. 'It's an opportunity. It creates real energy, and it creates a great opportunity to get our leadership right going forward. You watch. We will come out of this as a stronger league, and our popularity will come back and increase.'

There are no concrete plans for another call, but the owner added that he expects the discussion to continue.