The Dallas Cowboys’ star shines bright as the symbol for America’s Team.
Yet that star is a little dimmer with just two weeks to go before the NFL regular season kicks off as Micah Parsons remains in search of a new contract. It’s been a difficult offseason on that front for the All-Pro, with seemingly no progress towards resolving the dispute.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones peeled back the curtain during an appearance on Irvin’s YouTube channel, detailing the negotiations with his superstar pass rusher.
‘When we wanted to send the [contract] details to the agent, the agent told us to stick it up our ass,’ Jones said. ‘Micah and I talked and then we were gonna send it over to the agent. We had our agreements on term, amount, guarantees, everything.’
The agent told Jones to not bother because they still had to negotiate – something Jones says already happened in his mind, adding that he already moved off his mark on several fronts.
‘We’ve got this resolved in my mind, for the Dallas Cowboys,’ Jones said. ‘And we got it done. If the agent wants to finish up the details, which he should, and do all the paperwork, then he could do that. We’re ready to go. As far as the amount of money, the years, the guarantees, all of that, we negotiated that.’
Jones wouldn’t say whether the offer would make Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, but did offer another response to Irvin.
‘It would’ve made him the highest guaranteed player other than a quarterback in the NFL,’ he said.
The owner pointed to Dak Prescott’s contract as an example, calling it a precedent and saying they have three years to work it out with Parsons – given that he’s in the final year of his contract and then can be franchise tagged for two more.
Jones repeatedly made mention of the shelf life for football players in particular, pointing out that giving out a big guarantee can sometimes backfire.
‘You and I both know that everybody that walks out here is vulnerable, to a degree, of not playing again,’ Jones said, adding that it could hurt a team’s chances from winning when that money could instead be spent on multiple players.
He still has one goal in mind, however, which remains winning a Super Bowl – and he isn’t afraid to open the checkbook to accomplish that.
‘I’m always willing to do what it takes,’ Jones said. ‘A year ago, I made Dak [Prescott] the highest-paid player ever in the history of the NFL. At the same time, I made the receiver [CeeDee Lamb] about the third or fourth-highest paid receiver in the NFL, Lamb. So I don’t have a cramped up hand. I know how to wiggle a pencil and write a check. It’s a question of doing it as smartly as we can do it. We have some really top players right now and we need to make sure we’re judicious about how we allocate that money.’
Parsons looks to be part of the allocation of funds. There are just two weeks to figure it out before the season kicks off and Jones runs the risk of not spending the money or having the player.