- NFL. Jerry Jones accused of bying agents as Micah Parsons' contract battle heats up
- NFL. Jerry Jones' Cowboys have telegraphed their NFL Draft moves by neglecting key positions in free agency
Micah Parsons and Jerry Jones are trying to cooking up something big for the Dallas Cowboys, but the way they're doing it's raising eyebrows, and bending some rules. The Cowboys' owner and GM has his sights set on locking down his All-Pro edge rusher with a deal that could make Parsons the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback-think north of $40 million a year.
Problem is, Jones is trying to sidestep the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by cutting Parsons' agent, David Mulugheta, out of the talks. "I'm the one who has to write the check, and Micah's the one who has to agree to it," Jones said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, doubling down on his straight-to-player approach. It's classic Jerry.
Jones isn't shy about his playbook. He's bragged about skipping agents before, like with Ezekiel Elliott's 2019 holdout. "The straighter it goes from the source to the one receiving it, nine times out of 10 that's more efficient," he said back then, and he's sticking to that vibe now. He claims he's spent "five or six hours" hashing out with Parsons-stuff like term length, guarantees, and cold hard cash.
X fans are buzzing: "Jerry's trying to lowball without Mulugheta knowing!" one posted-but the CBA says teams have to deal with a player's NFLPA-certified agent if the player wants it that way. And Parsons? He's made it crystal clear he does.
Jerry Jones' CBA snub could shake Parsons' future
"David is the best, and I will not be doing any deal without [him] involved!" Parsons fired off on X on April 1, clapping back at Jones' "I don't know his name" jab about Mulugheta. The dude's not messing around-Mulugheta's a heavy hitter who's snagged over $1 billion in deals for stars like Deshaun Watson.
"Like anyone with good sense, I hired experts for a reason," Parsons added, drawing a line in the sand. X's split, some cheer: "Micah's standing up!" while others muse "Jerry's just being Jerry." With Parsons' fifth-year option at $24 million for 2025 locked in, this could drag out.
The NFLPA's stayed mum so far-maybe because Parsons is holding his own-but Jones' sidestepping's a bold move. "It's never been about me," Mulugheta texted calmly on April 2, keeping his cool while hinting Jones' habit could backfire. With $161M deals floating as benchmarks, this Cowboys saga's got juice.