Jerry Jones’ account of the Micah Parsons negotiation is being called into question.
Agent David Mulugheta denied Jones’ story that the sides has come to an informal “handshake agreement” in an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday.
Jones and Parsons exchanged figures and term during a three-hour meeting at the Dallas Cowboys owner’s office, after which Jones said he believed an agreement was done, ESPN reported Tuesday.
But Mulugheta said Parsons asked for agent representation at that point, and said he was caught off guard when the Cowboys stopped communicating after the request.
“At no point did Micah believe he was negotiating a contract,” Mulugheta told co-host Stephen A. Smith. “I’m not sure how this turned the way it did, but Jerry was not open to negotiating any further.”
Jones said that the supposed agreement would have paid Parsons roughly $40.5 million per year, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback at the time.
But negotiations appear to have fallen apart when Parsons insisted on having his agent involved.
Mulugheta emphasized that Parsons’ team was ready to negotiate and reached out multiple times, including to Cowboys’ contract executive Adam Prasifka and executive vice president Stephen Jones, but received no response.
The breakdown eventually led to Parsons’ trade request in August.
And Dallas obliged, dealing him to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Parsons then signed a four-year, $188-million contract — including $120 million fully guaranteed at signing and $136 million in total guarantees — which actually did make him the highest-paid non-quarterback ever.
The Cowboys wanted to lock Parsons in with a five-year deal, but Parsons wanted a four-year deal with a fifth-year option.
“That’s a loaded question,” Mulugheta said, when asked whether the Cowboys’ offer would have paid him the most for a non-quarterback. “From an AP-wise standpoint, if you’re looking at the average that was offered to him, I believe it was 40.5 (million), which would have made him at the time, from an AP-wise standpoint, the highest-paid. That being said, the way the cash flow is structured over his first three new years, he would not be paid as the highest-paid player in the NFL.»
Mulugheta also factored the rise of the salary cap, which would allow a player like Parsons to get a larger deal down the road.
“Another important part of the contract was a four-year deal vs. a five-year deal,” Mulugheta said. “When you look at that, that fifth new year could be the difference in $30 (million) to $40 million for the player. If you look at where the pass-rusher market was a year ago, it was at $35 million or so with Nick Bosa. Now it’s at $47 million with Micah Parsons. … The difference between those two deals you’re looking at could be possibly $60-$70 million when it’s all said and done.”
Despite the messy breakup, Mulugheta insisted that Parsons wanted to remain with the Cowboys, but they couldn’t agree on the number of years.
“Micah wanted to be a Cowboy, and we did everything we could,” he said. «But there is so much that goes into an NFL contract.”
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