Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed ongoing contract negotiations with linebacker Micah Parsons during a recent appearance on Irvin’s YouTube channel. With two weeks remaining before the start of the National Football League season, Parsons and the team have not yet come to an agreement on a new contract.
Jones described the situation with Parsons’ representation: “When we wanted to send the [contract] details to the agent, the agent told us to stick it up our ass (…) Micah and I talked and then we were gonna send it over to the agent. We had our agreements on term, amount, guarantees, everything.”
According to Jones, while he believed both sides had resolved major points including money, years, and guarantees, there remained outstanding details for Parsons’ agent. “We’ve got this resolved in my mind, for the Dallas Cowboys,” Jones said. “And we got it done. If the agent wants to finish up the details, which he should, and do all the paperwork, then he could do that. We’re ready to go. As far as the amount of money, the years, the guarantees, all of that, we negotiated that.”
Asked if this would make Parsons one of football’s highest-paid non-quarterbacks ever or set a record at his position group, Jones responded: “It would’ve made him the highest guaranteed player other than a quarterback in the NFL.”
Jones mentioned that he used quarterback Dak Prescott’s current contract as a benchmark in talks with Parsons’ camp and noted that contractual control can extend for three more years due to possible use of franchise tags. He also commented on long-term player contracts and potential risks teams face when issuing substantial financial guarantees: “You and I both know that everybody that walks out here is vulnerable, to a degree, of not playing again,” Jones said. “(…) It could hurt a team’s chances from winning when that money could instead be spent on multiple players.”
Regarding his willingness to pay for top talent amid salary cap constraints and roster building decisions entering another season aiming for postseason success: “I’m always willing to do what it takes,” Jones said. “A year ago, I made Dak [Prescott] the highest-paid player ever in the history of the NFL. At the same time, I made the receiver [CeeDee Lamb] about the third or fourth-highest paid receiver in the NFL (…). So I don’t have a cramped up hand. I know how to wiggle a pencil and write a check. It’s a question of doing it as smartly as we can do it. We have some really top players right now and we need to make sure we’re judicious about how we allocate that money.”
There are two weeks remaining before opening day for both parties to reach final agreement.
