First came the hold-out, then the hold-in, and now a trade request—Micah Parsons is following the modern NFL playbook to secure a contract extension. But unlike Terry McLaurin, whose situation in Washington will eventually get resolved, Parsons’ frustrations run deeper, directly tied to Jerry Jones and his offseason antics that often throw his own players under the bus.
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So what exactly did the Cowboys’ owner do this time? Apparently, Jerry Jones attempted to negotiate with Parsons behind his agent’s back, something he reportedly tried back in March under false pretenses. Jones claims he and Parsons reached a “handshake deal” without involving his agent, David Mulugheta. But unsurprisingly, no contract was signed.
As if Stephen A. Smith needed more ammunition to go after Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, this latest controversy gave him all he needed. On air, Smith blasted Jones for attempting to take advantage of Parsons and punishing him for refusing to negotiate without professional representation.
Smith didn’t mince words. He highlighted the glaring power imbalance: Jerry is a seasoned billionaire businessman who has built the Cowboys into a multi-billion-dollar empire, an expert negotiator by every standard. Parsons, on the other hand, is a 25-year-old player with no experience in negotiating high-stakes contracts. That’s why he, like most NFL players, hires a qualified agent to advocate on his behalf.
“If you’re Jerry, an astute businessman spanning decades, made billions being in business. Knowing this, your history and how adroit you are at business and negotiations, you are going to sit around and hold it against Micah Parsons for getting his agent involved. He is not equipped to negotiate against you. Why would you sit there and lament his agent getting involved because you want to take advantage of him? You want to be unfair, you want to be a big bully on the block.”
Most team executives prefer to deal with agents rather than players directly, for good reason. But Jerry seems intent on bypassing Parsons’ representation, which raises red flags. If he genuinely had his star defender’s best interest at heart, he would welcome the agent’s involvement. Instead, it feels like a power play, an attempt to lowball and pressure Micah into signing a team-friendly deal on Jerry’s terms. It’s not just bad optics; it reeks of manipulation.
Micah Parsons’ trade request isn’t bothering Jerry in the slightest. He doesn’t believe his star defender is going anywhere, and he isn’t letting him leave, and believes they have a great future together. Jones doesn’t want anyone to lose sleep over the trade request and believes all of this is part of negotiations. Both sides are yet to start the talks.
But this kind of drama is on par with the Cowboys and their offseason. It is necessary to stay in the news and create buzz. Jerry will likely reward Parsons just before the start of the season, like he did Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
