Following a mid-March meeting between Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons, the Cowboys owner was left with the belief that he reached an extension agreement with his star pass rusher. That deal obviously never came to fruition, ultimately culminating in last week’s stunning blockbuster trade with the Packers.
[RELATED: Micah Parsons Attempted To Restart Cowboys Extension Talks Prior To Trade]
Following that fateful meeting, Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, claims he made several attempts to resume negotiations with the organization. However, Jones apparently stuck to his apparent handshake agreement and refused to return to the the negotiating table.
“To expect somebody like Micah Parsons to be one of the best defenders in the NFL and also a great lawyer when it comes to contracts, I think it’s a bit unfair,” Mulugheta said during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” yesterday (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky and Todd Archer). “His job is to go out there and chase quarterbacks, and our job is to go out there and chase commas for him. I’m not sure exactly why it went this way, but we were always prepared and open to negotiating a contract with the Jones family.”
Mulugheta made it clear that his client always wanted to remain a Cowboy, and despite the public stare down with the organization, Parsons would have suited up for Week 1 without a new contract. That made Jones’ refusal to resume negotiations especially frustrating for the player’s camp.
“If you’re a [then-]25-year-old football player and your boss, who happens to be the most powerful person in the NFL, starts talking about contracts, it’s hard for you to end that conversation,” Mulugheta said. “So they had a conversation. Micah nodded his head out of respect.
“Obviously there’s a power dynamic that’s a little different there. One guy’s the owner of the team and the GM, and the other one is Micah Parsons, a young 25-year-old football player. So, I’m not sure if there was miscommunication there by the time Micah walked out, but at no point did Micah believe that he was negotiating a contract.”
While there apparently wasn’t much back-and-forth between the two sides, it sounds like the Cowboys still had a definitive contract on the table. Jones claimed they offered Parsons a contract that would have made him the highest-paid non-QB in league history, and sources told ESPN that the offer exceeded $150MM. However, the main difference in the Cowboys’ standing offer and the four-year, $188MM deal Parsons ultimately accepted from the Packers was the length. As Mulugheta notes, the Cowboys were sticking to a five-year offer, a contract that the agent believes would have cost his client about $60MM to $70MM in future earnings.
There was also some belief that Jones was potentially circumventing CBA rules by attempting to negotiate with Parsons directly. The interim leader of the NFL Players’ Association, David White, seemed to tiptoe around the controversy when asked about the matter.
“We intend to enforce every provision of the collective bargaining agreement when we think that there may be a violation,” White said (via Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press). “And the best way to do that is to call people and say: ‘Knock it off.’ When both sides are able to do that, when needed, that usually makes for a productive management-labor relationship. When it doesn’t work, for whatever reason, that’s when you take it to the next level, which is to file a grievance to go to court, or to take whatever action is available to you under the collective bargaining agreement. In this instance, and here you’re talking about Jerry and Micah and their representatives and the other folks involved, I will say Micah has found his way to Green Bay with a contract that he has publicly stated makes him happy, and that makes us happy.”
One contender for the full-time NFLPA executive director job was a bit more pointed in his criticism. Hall of Fame cornerback Darrelle Revis took to social media to question whether Jones should be held accountable. Revis suggested that the NFLPA could look into a grievance against the Cowboys, although he acknowledged that the subsequent fine would only amount “to pennies.”
“At the very least, the NFLPA should be saying it does not condone what Jerry is doing, that all options are on the table, and reminding players that if ownership ever tries to deal with them directly while represented, they should contact their agent and the union immediately,” Revis wrote. “The bigger issue is respect. Jerry’s actions show that owners have no problem taking advantage of us, and when our union fails to respond, it sends the message that they’ll be able to do the same in the next CBA negotiations if the current leadership remains in place.”
Midweek fun fact: Dallas is the only part of Texas that’ll see Parsons’ new team Green Bay in the CBS doubleheader game this Sunday (9/7). The rest of Texas will see Houston and Los Angeles from the Rams’ house.
That really is a midweek fun fact.
This is a huge issue and one that Revis is 1000% right about. Absolutely improper on the part of Jerry and he clearly tried to finesse an undermarket deal by going outside the CBA. I actually generally like Jerry and think he’s good for football….but he deserves losing a great player for taking such an egregious action.
The proposed deal was definitely NOT an undermarket deal.
His deal with the Packers is at least $30M higher and his agent mentioned missing out on $60-70M of potential value. I know that’s agent speak but the Cowboys deal was clearly under market.
I was curious as to why there was no grievance filed, and I forget what the punishment would be, but I read it’s a complete joke. It would be like the equivalent of you or I hiring a lawyer to sue someone for $200. The NFLPA needs to fix this in the next CBA.
You have the current head of the NFLPA saying they’re happy. That’s why no grievance was filed. If you’ve been following the NFLPA storyline recently you’ll note that their leadership is incredibly problematic and overly management-friendly. Revis should get the job.
One day, he won’t even be able to feed the worms right.
Just a wretched thing.
Easy to say he would have suited up now….
All these suits are the same – just sit on opposite sides of the table.
The agent is primarily full of BS. Micah’s not some naive little kid who didn’t know WTF he was involved in. Regardless of who broached the contract subject first in their conversation on a number of issues, Micah definitely knew what he was doing. Neither he or his agent denied that fact that Micah followed up that conversation by calling Stephen within a day or so after that to negotiate the numbers up even a little more. Was Micah a still a poor little naive 25 year old when he did that? Was Micah in over his head? You can make the case that he likely was, but he can’t claim he didn’t know what was going on. I do understand the agent’s wanting to hold firm on 4 years, rather than 5, but it’s pure BS that it would have cost Micah $60-70M in future earnings for the single extra year in a contract. The agent could have possibly backed the Cowboys down on the 5 years or got even more for the extra year, but he let the whole thing go on way too long before he swallowed his pride and called the team. The absolute final, extra long, nail in the coffin was when Micah’s bogus claim of back issues was shown to have no standing after an MRI and he flew to LA to purportedly get an equally likely bogus “second opinion” so he could claim he was too injured to practice and play in a game. If Micah really, really wanted to be a Cowboy for life he could have easily stopped the nonsense and made a deal. Both Jerry’s and the agent’s version of events are likely equally flawed and Micah let his ego purposely step in a pile of isht. He still comes out a multimillionaire, but he’ll freeze his ass off in GB, miss the bright lights and the HUGE Cowboys media attention he craves and lives for in the big city, and he’ll end up paying $M’s in state taxes he’d avoid in Texas. Adios amigo and good luck with that.
I’m sorry but you’re on crack if you think any of this falls on anyone but Jerry. Micah isn’t a perfect guy but Jerry is the adult in this situation. He’s done plenty of these deals. There’s 0% chance he was trying to do anything but manipulate and take advantage of Micah. Adding an extra year would without a doubt cost him that $60m Mughaleta talked about. The highest non QB 4 years ago was Aaron Donald at 22.5 mil annual average. Micah just got 43m annual average just 4 years later. That’s $80m more over the course of the contract. Micah waiting one more year could easily cost him about $60m also pushing him into his 30’s. See how hard it was for some 30 year olds like McLaurin and Reddick to get their due? Micah getting to be an FA again in his 20’s is a really big deal, not counting the cap continuing to rise. Do some homework. Lastly, you NEVER trade your BEST player, especially when he is a generational talent. Any Dallas fan acting like it’s no big deal to lose him is extra delusional
They’re both adults here. Stop trying to act like there’s any victims involved.
Sounds like you relish drinking the agent’s Kool-Aid so much that when you swallow it your brain disconnects from reality. You can keep believing what you want, but time over the next 3 or so years will say whether it was a bad deal or not. As for trading your supposed best player: SB history is replete with winning team after winning team grabbing the ring WITHOUT the benefit of an elite pass rusher. A good-ish or quite good pass rusher – yes. An elite pass rusher – not nearly so much. It’s not even close. Teams have learned how to often take Micah out of games. A SB level team should be able to handle him far more often than not. BTW, I hope you liked the Kool-Aid.
Yea, you know what? You’re right. The kool aid is totally blocking my memory. Micah is one of the closest things to Lawrence Taylor and Reggie white since them, both of which combined for 3 superbowls btw, and I just forgot those teams didn’t have elite pass rushers. He’s not just a top pass rusher. He’s a generational talent. A guy you talk about as a complete game wrecker for his whole career. The fact that any team needs to scheme away from him makes mediocre teammates look even better cuz of what he causes.
This whole argument was about money btw and after I corrected your assessment of the money Jerry tried to short Micah, you just say I “drink the kool aid” as if that makes any sense. It’s common math. Just look at contracts 4 years ago verse today. Watch the growth trajectory of each position. His agent did right by him and Jerry is a POS
Herschel Walker was Dallas’ best player when they traded him. Generally, though, yes, I agree with you.
nah
A trade was made and the off season is almost over. No reason to keep milking this story but I have a feeling the media won’t let go easy.
As soon as the games start tonight, it’ll go away until week 6 when GB goes to Dallas.
The Packers play the Cowboys in Week 4 (9/28) on NBC.
Yeah thanks. Stupid mistake. Was think it was after their bye. Nope.
The NFL always wants a big story like this.
Hey wait! I thought Roger Goodell was trying to convince us all that flag football was the big story 🙂
“To expect somebody like Micah Parsons …” What is that supposed to mean?
Damage control by the agent? He got what he wanted. Granted, it’s not what the player or owner wanted. So theres no need to try to push you’re story on anyone.