DALLAS — Exactly why the Dallas Cowboys don’t have Micah Parsons’ contract situation settled now isn’t really that big of a deal.
If it was particularly important to Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones it would probably be done by now.
Mike Florio with Pro Football Talk, who likes to jump up and down on his self-righteous pogo stick, is exactly right with his analysis this time.
Just because I agree with the bottom line means we share the same reasons for that. It’s not surprising or anything wrong from this angle.
Jones is doing what’s best for himself and that’s his right. He paid for that right about 35 years ago. If he screws it up, well, it’s on him. He probably knows that.
Besides, it just keeps up a time-honored Cowboys tradition for about the last 60 years or so. Even Tex Schramm and Gil Brandt played those little games.
Sure, Jones is keeping the Cowboys in the spotlight of these off-season conversations. Exactly why anybody finds that unusual or particularly alarming is the most entertaining aspect of all this.
It’s not exactly a revelation from any direction. Especially when other people decide when and how Jones spends his money.
“There are many reasons why the Cowboys have gone 30 years without an appearance in the NFC Championship,” Florio said at Pro Football Talk. “One very real reason is the chronic stubbornness of owner Jerry Jones to pay his core players sooner than later.
“Our guess? He knows it. And he’d rather have the latest unsettled contract become the top story for sports media than to see his team benefit from the relative irrelevance of peace.”
The Cowboys have a history of last-minute negotiations with their stars, including Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, both of whom signed their deals only after prolonged and highly publicized standoffs.
Probably over half of the names of players in the Ring of Honor when through some of that drama, even the ones before Jones became the owner.
Right now, a lot of folks are squirming because a player that’s under contract hasn’t been given a long-term extension. It’s a business decision.
With his fifth-year option exercised for 2025 at $24.007 million, Parsons is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026, fueling urgency among fans and analysts for a long-term extension.
Negotiations are expected to make Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, with projections north of $41 million per year.
Talks have reportedly stalled, despite Jones and Parsons agreeing on key framework parameters.
The delay now appears to hinge on approval from Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta. Jones has downplayed the agent’s role.
“I don’t know his name,” Jones has said. Whether it was a dig at the agent or not really isn’t known and is no more than a chuckle.
Jones has been characteristically candid about his negotiation style.
“We are there,” Jones said at the NFL’s annual league meeting. “I don’t view it as urgent at all. Some say using the basis that the earlier you get something done, the cheaper. The earlier you get something done, a lot of the time, the more mistakes you make.
“I’d rather pay more and get it right than pay less and screw it up”.
Jones has also chosen to negotiate directly with Parsons, bypassing his agent.
“I’m the one who has to sign the check and Micah’s the one that has to agree to it,” Jones explained. “That’s the straightest way to get to it is the one writing the check and the one agreeing to it talking, and that’s the principal that’s involved here.”
Exactly why that bothers fans and media is laughable and gets Jones what he wants — people talking about the Cowboys.
Mission accomplished. The delay has not gone unnoticed.
Cowboys fans have taken to social media and sports forums demanding an extension for Parsons, especially as his 26th birthday passed without a new deal.
“The more people that are involved, the harder it is to get a deal done, right?” NFL analyst Albert Breer said on his podcast. “It’s easier if it’s just one person. And there’s some truth to that, but don’t you dare say it.”
Insiders warn that Jones’ approach risks alienating both Parsons and his agent, potentially complicating future negotiations and even threatening the Cowboys’ ability to retain their defensive cornerstone.
Taking an off-ramp out of DFW isn’t something players do that much. There are advantages to being a Cowboy and Parsons probably isn’t going anywhere.
Dallas’ history suggests a deal could come at the last minute, but the optics of a prolonged negotiation could have long-lasting effects, the “experts” like to say.
Considering those same people have been saying the same thing for over 60 years around the Cowboys, there’s probably nothing to worry about down the road.