PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons do not have a contract extension.
They nonetheless created a stir at league meetings this week as Jerry Jones expounded on the conversations he’s had with his star edge rusher.
“I spent five, six hours with him myself and had a lot of discussions,” Jones, the team’s owner and general manager, said Tuesday from The Breakers resort. “Most of the issues we’re in agreement on and discussed it all. But we obviously don’t have an agreement relative to a new contract.
“It’s not uncommon for me to visit directly with players. And in this particular case, it’s what I'm doing.”
Jones has, indeed, attempted to negotiate extensions directly with his players in previous years. Other clubs also have asked players to meet for direct conversations. What makes the Cowboys’ approach to this negotiation different, however, is their lack of communication with Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta.
Parsons asked Jerry and Stephen Jones to connect with Mulguheta to negotiate, multiple sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports on Tuesday afternoon. Neither Jones has made that call, sources also confirmed.
Mulugheta has had conversations with Adam Prasifka, the Cowboys’ director of salary cap/player contracts. But even Jerry Jones said Tuesday the deal can’t be done without him as “I write the check.”
Jones indicated interest in negotiating only with Parsons and without involving his representation.
“The agent is not a factor here or something to worry about,” Jones said. “And I don’t know his name. My point is, I’m not trying to demean him, but this isn’t about an agent. … I’m not demeaning the agent. I’m just saying everybody can do this, and that’s talk directly to a player.
“And frankly most people that negotiate with me will tell me that that was better.”
While Jones said multiple times he was “not demeaning” Mulugheta, league sources believed the comment about not knowing Mulugheta’s name was indeed demeaning. Mulugheta has negotiated record-breaking contracts for NFL stars including Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and a slew of top defensive backs.
Mulugheta became the first agent in NFL history to negotiate more than $1 billion in player contracts in a single year, according to a September announcement by his agency Athletes First.
Parsons responded publicly to Jones’ comments.
“David is the best and I will not be doing any deal without [him],” Parsons tweeted. “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.”
Jones said the conversation happened, in part, because Parsons “is one of three individuals who have my cell phone number.” Jones said Parsons asked for a direct line “about a month ago.”
“[Parsons] said, ‘I want to be able to talk to you at any time,’” Jones said. “And I said, ‘Micah you’re one of the few. We’ll talk anytime. Call me.”