“That Ain’t How Hiring Works”: Shannon Sharpe Schools Jerry Jones for Excluding Micah Parsons’ Agent

With a reputation for being the NFL’s perennial penny pincher, owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, is once again making headlines for his questionable business dealings. Having reportedly snubbed Micah Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, from ongoing conversations pertaining to Parsons’ contract extension, Jones maintains that he doesn’t even know the agent’s name.

While the owner did inform reporters that he has spent several hours dealing with Parsons directly, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe found himself laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of Jones’ latest antics.

On the latest episode of the Nightcap podcast, the Denver Bronco legend made it clear that he found this to be a dishonest attempt at negotiations. Highlighting that Mulugheta was the same one involved with Parsons’s rookie dealings, Sharpe was quick to call Jones out for misrepresenting the situation.

“Jerry thinks he slick… You know this man has an agent. Why are you trying to circumvent him? …That ain’t how hiring works, Jerry.”

Sharpe’s co-host and former Cincinnati Bengal, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, found himself in agreement. Suggesting that Jones is potentially trying to capitalize on a player’s lack of financial and legal literacy, Johnson noted the complex nature of contracts before mentioning that these kinds of instances are exactly what an agent is meant for.

In mentioning that there’s “tricky language” in contracts that “will trip you up if you don’t pay attention,” Johnson explained that the process of negotiating with an NFL team is often filled with deceit.

“They play hard ball. They are going to undermine you, and they going to lowball you off the rip, every single time, no matter how good you are, unless you’re the quarterback. Now, every other position? Oh, they don’t play. You’ve got to have a shark as an agent when it’s time to go get paid.”

While these kinds of negotiation tactics may have been successful in years prior, it has become increasingly difficult for owners to control the narrative in a digital age where players have amassed large followings on social media. As Parsons himself stated, “There will be no backdoors.”

Micah Parsons reacts to Jerry Jones’ claims on social media

After Jones’s interview was made public, the Cowboys’ premiere defender took to social media to set the record straight. In agreeing with a writer’s post that labeled Jones’s negotiation attempts as “blatant disrespect,” Parsons made it clear that his agent would certainly be involved in future discussions.

Given that Jones has a long history of making questionable deals with coaches and players alike, former analyst and signal caller Robert Griffin III implored Parsons to move on from Dallas. Believing that other teams could provide him with a worthy salary and a better chance at winning, Griffin’s message to Parsons was rather clear.

While nothing would pain the Dallas faithful more than to see the team lose its best defensive player in years, that fear may soon become a reality. The prevailing sentiment surrounding the Cowboys is that Jones’s approach towards negotiations has often held the team back, with this debacle serving as the latest example.

Should the Cowboys’ owner remain stuck in his ways, his team will likely falter with him. Perhaps it’s best that Parsons speaks with the likes of Jimmy Johnson and Michael Irvin before taking any more of Jones’ phone calls.