Oh the Dallas Cowboys. Just when you think you've gotten enough of them, Jerry Jones comes crawling out of the shadows and does something so outrageous it pulls you right back in. You can't look away even if you want to. There’s nothing better than watching them boys implode. Especially for New York Giants fans.
Dallas should be trying to lock down Micah Parsons—one of the few things they’ve actually done right lately. Instead, Jerry's out here treating contract negotiations like it's make-pretend world. Reports say the Cowboys offered Parsons a record-setting deal without even going through his agent—whom Jones said is not a concern, nor does he know his name. Yikes.
Parsons, who should be talking extension numbers through his representation like literally every other NFL star not named Lamar Jackson, didn’t take the slight lightly. He clapped back swiftly on social media:
"David is the best and I will not be doing any deal without David Mulugheta involved! Like anyone with good sense I hired experts for a reason. There is no one I trust more when it comes to negotiating contracts than David! There will be no backdoors in this contract negotiation."
When you have to publicly remind your billionaire boss to follow basic protocol, things are already off the rails.
(Aside from the Giants)—can we get Jerry Jones to run every NFC East team?
Jones going rogue to get a deal done without consulting Mulugheta isn’t just completely nuts, it’s reckless. According to the collective bargaining agreement CBA, players represented by agents must have negotiations go through their rep. It's non-negotiable. Jones either forgot or just didn’t care. Neither is a great look.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Cowboys contract negotiation without some added absurdity. According to multiple reports, Jones said Parsons is “cashing the checks, so he’s who I need to talk to.” That has apparently led to a semi-handshake deal between Jones and Parsons. One that Mulugheta will have to look over to officially put pen to paper.
Parsons, smartly, isn’t budging without his agent. And honestly, good for him. Just because Jerry wants to live-action-role-play as GM and skip protocol doesn’t mean Parsons should fall victim to potential ramifications.
Parsons is reportedly on board with the dollar amount. The contract is set to make him the highest-paid non-QB in league history, but if the agent doesn’t approve, it’s meaningless. Jerry tried to skip steps and now he’s got his best player publicly reminding him how contracts work. Giants fans have seen dysfunction before, but this? This is top-shelf.
Even if this gets sorted out (and it probably will, eventually), the damage is done. Parsons had to publicly defend his agent, the front office got exposed for sidestepping protocol, and the whole saga confirmed what most of us already knew—that Jerry’s way of doing business hasn’t aged nearly as well as he thinks it has.
Dysfunction in Dallas is always good for business in New York. And business is booming.