Jonathan Jones
The NFL, kids, and a TBM
Three-year-old Jaiden Jones is running around a hangar in Leesburg, Virginia, his arms outstretched like the flying kid he is—his father’s Daher TBM 930 is behind him. On a recent flight from their home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Leesburg, his question to his dad was “what is airspeed?”
Washington Commanders cornerback Jonathan Jones smiles with pride at his son’s question. “I gave him a quick little understanding, and he’s like in love with flying,” he says.
Jones played for the New England Patriots for the first nine years of his NFL career, joining the Washington team in 2025. A friend introduced him to aviation by way of saying he was flying from Birmingham, Alabama, to Atlanta, and Jones thought, “Who takes a commercial airliner from Birmingham to Atlanta?” And the friend told him “My son is a pilot, and he’ll fly us over in his airplane.”
That “got the gears turning in my head,” Jones said. “That sounds like something I’d love. I took a discovery flight and fell in love with aviation.”
Jones’ football career influenced his flight training. “I have a lot of freedom in the off season. I was able to mimic my football training schedule in my flight training: wake up and fly like a workout, come home for lunch, and go back in the afternoon and fly. I did that four days a week, and it helped with the consistency.”
He started in a Cessna 172 in Norwood, Massachusetts, transitioned to a Cirrus when he got his instrument rating, and then purchased the TBM.
“I love the capability. Pratt & Whitney makes a reliable engine that everyone talks about; the TBM has a reputation for speed, altitude. It has everything that fits my mission.” His mission has been flying from his home in Charlotte to his teams in Boston and now Washington.
Jones has started a nonprofit organization to give back. The Jonathan Jones Next Step Foundation introduces kids to aviation. “I wasn’t exposed to aviation or the process of becoming a pilot. I think the hardest thing to do is to do something that’s never been done before. And the easiest thing is to follow in someone’s footsteps. You see that someone has done it, and it makes it much more attainable for you. To be able to share with kids and pique their interest. It’s been a blessing.” 
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