Former Dallas Cowboys running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Emmitt Smith recently commented on the ongoing contract dispute between current Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and the team. Speaking on the “Get Got Pod,” Smith drew on his own past experiences with contract negotiations, noting that while he hopes for a positive outcome for Parsons, he believes the leverage is not in the player’s favor.
“I’ve been through that situation before, and in my heart of hearts, I would like to think things will work out with Parsons and the Cowboys; however, I don’t understand the position he’s in. (…) Leverage, leverage does not sway to his side; leverage sways to the Cowboys’ side because they got options. He doesn’t have as many options as they have,” said Smith. He added, “But in this new age of football, I understand the need to go ahead and get your stuff taken care of right now (…) So you can have a place to call home and go out there and do what you have been called to do. I’m all about a player getting his money a matter of fact. I want him to get his money.”
Smith himself went through a contract holdout with team owner Jerry Jones in 1992, missing two games at that time.
On the current state of negotiations from Parsons’ perspective, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported: “From what I can gather, this is like very business to him. Like, I’m not sensing, like I’m sure he’s frustrated (…) He wants to play, but he’s aware that this is just business (…) This isn’t personal. That this is just something that he’s got to do in order to get paid what he’s worth, a deal that I think everyone in football thought would be easy. I thought this was the layup.”
With no agreement reached yet between Parsons and the Cowboys as their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles approaches on Sept. 4., both parties remain under scrutiny regarding whether Parsons will take part when games begin.
