Most of the tension in the contract negotiations between Micah Parsons and Jerry Jones, owner and president of the Dallas Cowboys, began after a meeting where both sides believed different outcomes had been reached. According to Jones, issues arose when details of an agreement were presented to Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta.
During an interview with former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin, Jones described the moment he attempted to formalize terms with Parsons’ representation. “When we wanted to send the details to the agent, the agent told us to stick it up our ass,” Jones said. “Just so we’re clear … [Micah] and I talked and then we were going to send it over to the agent. We had our agreements on term, amount, guarantees, all that.”
Jones also stated that he was willing to make Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history regarding guaranteed money and that the average annual value would have exceeded $40 million. He added, “The world would know that I want Micah if they knew what I had offered him (… ) And he knows what I offered him. So, the world would know that I would want Micah on the team and respect what he would bring to the team.”
Jones expressed frustration over ongoing negotiations with Mulugheta. “We were going to send it over to the agent and he said ‘Don’t bother because we’ve got all that to negotiate.’ Well, I already negotiated,” Jones said. “I already moved off my mark in several areas and so the issue, very frankly, is we’ve had the negotiation in my mind. The agent is trying to get his nose in right now and try to come in there and improve off the market already set.”
As training camp continues ahead of the season opener against Philadelphia Eagles in two weeks, Parsons is attending practice but not participating in drills while contract talks remain stalled.
