‘I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys’ – Micah Parsons reveals details of messy contract negotiations, requests trade
It’s been a chaotic 24 hours for the Dallas Cowboys. On Friday, things reached a tipping point: Micah Parsons requested a trade from the franchise and revealed on social media that he is no longer interested in playing for the team that drafted him in 2021. “I no longer want to play for the Dallas […]
It’s been a chaotic 24 hours for the Dallas Cowboys. On Friday, things reached a tipping point: Micah Parsons requested a trade from the franchise and revealed on social media that he is no longer interested in playing for the team that drafted him in 2021.
“I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys,” Parsons wrote on an explosive statement via X, formerly Twitter. “My trade has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”
That was just the conclusion of a message that revealed several details of the messy contract negotiations between him and the Cowboys. I’m listing the biggest takeaways here.
Parsons sets the record straight about the March conversation with owner Jerry Jones
The Cowboys have alluded to Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons having a conversation in March that they’ve described as an agreement. Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta, however, wasn’t involved in those negotiations. The star defensive end stated earlier in the offseason that he would not do a backdoor deal, and he would not be cutting his agent out. In Friday’s statement, the star defensive end revealed details about the March conversation.
“In March, I met with Mr. Jones to talk about leadership,” Parsons wrote. “Somehow, the conversation turned into him talking contract with me. Yes, I engaged in a back and forth in regards to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation, and I informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out, thinking this would get things done.”
In the NFL, agents negotiate players’ deals in large part because owners and front offices would have an obvious negotiating advantage over players, who have limited business experience compared to them.
Parsons was open to doing a deal before other edge rusher extensions
Despite the market value for edge rushers being expected to rise with deals for the likes of Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and T.J. Watt, Parsons revealed he told his agent he wanted a deal done before, even if it meant signing for less money.
“After the (2024) season, I told my agent once again to let the team know we were open to negotiating when they met at the combine,” Parsons revealed. “My agent informed me I should wait for other deals to get done because the price would only go up, but I didn’t care and wanted to secure myself as a Cowboy long term [. . .] I knew I would be leaving money on the table, but again, I was ok with that.”
Cowboys’ shots at the star player backfired this time
Parsons cited being upset at the way the Cowboys have handled things in the media.
“I no longer want to be held to closed-door negotiations without my agent present, I no longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while laying it on the line for the organization, our fans, and teammates, I no longer want narratives created and spread to the media about me,” Parsons wrote.
The Cowboys are no strangers to messy contract negotiations. But they are strangers to a player fighting back. And Parsons is going to war. Good for him. Can Dallas save the situation?
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