PALM BEACH, Florida – There was a good news/weird news mix on the Micah Parsons money meter watch coming from Jerry Jones on Tuesday at the NFL league meetings.
The good news for Parsons and the legion of championship-starved Dallas Cowboys fans: Jones is willing to offer a megabucks contract that would make the star edge rusher the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with a deal in excess of $40 mil per year.
Word of Jones’ offer for a much-anticipated extension for the linchpin of Dallas’ defense, a significant breakthrough in stagnant negotiations, was first reported by Clarence Hill of All City DLLS. It comes on the heels of recent deals for Maxx Crosby,Myles Garrett and then Ja’Marr Chase that successively raised the bar on the “highest-paid non-quarterback” distinction. And Parsons, 25, is certainly worthy, supported by the four Pro Bowl selections and four double-digit sack seasons (52 ½ overall) in four seasons.
During a mid-day break, Jones confirmed this apparent progress to a small media group that included USA TODAY Sports.
Yet the flamboyant Dallas Cowboys owner also raised eyebrows with the weird news.
Jones has dealt directly with Parsons in discussing “every issue in the room,” as he put it, while bypassing David Mulugheta, one of the most respected agents in the NFL universe.
“The agent is not a factor here,” Jones said. “And I don’t know his name. I’m not trying to demean him in any way, but this isn’t about the agent. The agent doesn’t have one thing to do with what we’re doing when we get on a football field as a team. Micah does. To the degree I’m involved, I do.
“I’m not demeaning the agent. I’m saying anybody can do this. I mean, talk directly to the player. Frankly, most people who negotiate with me will tell you that they’re better off negotiating with me rather than anybody else.”
Still, even with the massive deal he’s seeking to close with Parsons, the optics are sideways. Jones contended that he’s not demeaning Mulugheta while doing exactly that. To not even know the name of the agent for your star pass-rusher?
That’s a straight diss, Jerry.
Jones mentioned that he is prone to deal directly with players, at least to some extent, dropping the names of Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders (who were represented by the late, great Eugene Parker), Jason Witten and Tony Romo. In striking a deal last year that made Dak Prescott the
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