Sportsnaut
Micah Parsons wasn’t the first top Dallas Cowboys player owner Jerry Jones tried to negotiate with directly.
The Athletic’s NFL senior writer Mike Silver revealed that Jones attempted to deal with Dak Prescott directly on the quarterback’s four-year, $240 million extension last September. However, Prescott wasn’t playing that game.
“Before signing Dak Prescott to a four-year, $240 million extension last September, Jones tried to negotiate directly with the quarterback. Prescott, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, quickly shut him down and told him to talk to his agent, Todd France,” according to Silver.
This latest revelation comes amid the contract standoff between Parsons and Jones. The Cowboys owner has refused to negotiate with Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, because he believes he reached a verbal agreement with the two-time All-Pro defensive end.
In a social media post last Friday, Parsons requested a trade over the contract impasse as he enters the final year of his rookie deal which pays him $24 million. He said on X that he “engaged in a back and forth” in March with Jones about what he wanted in a new contract and that Mulugheta would reach out to finalize negotiations.
However, when Mulugheta did contact Jones, Parsons said the owner told him he thought the deal was already done, even though nothing was put in writing.
Thank you Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
Since then, both sides have dug in and refused to budge or communicate.
Parsons has remained at Cowboys training camp but is not participating in drills. In his first four seasons in Dallas, he has recorded 52.5 sacks, was named first-team All-Pro twice and was voted Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021.
If Dallas does reach a deal with Parsons, it will most likely be in the range of T.J. Watt’s extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers that pays him $41 million annually for the next three years, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in football.
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