Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that he’s confident Micah Parsons will be on the field Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Judging by Jerry Jones’ comments Thursday, there’s a good chance that’s without a new contract.
While joining former Cowboys star wide receiver Michael Irvin on his YouTube channel, the Cowboys owner and general manager sounded completely committed to not renegotiating what he believes was already negotiated back in March with Parsons. Jones said the offer would have made the All-Pro pass rusher the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback in guaranteed money.
“The world would know that I want Micah if they knew what I had offered him,” Jones told Irvin. “And he knows what I offered him.”
Jones and Parsons met back in March and negotiated without Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, being present. Jones said Thursday that when they sent the contract details over, “the agent told us to stick it up our ass.”
Parsons, who requested a trade Aug. 1, is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie deal. His 2025 salary is just over $24 million. The NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback in terms of average annual value is Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt at $41 million per year. Last month, he signed a three-year, $123 million contract extension with $108 million guaranteed, the most guaranteed money by a non-quarterback.
When Parsons posted his trade request on X, his statement said, “I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present.” Parsons included details about the March meeting, writing that it was about leadership. “Somehow the conversation turned into him talking contract with me,” Parsons added. “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.”
Jones continued to explain Thursday that Parsons is under contract for this season and the Cowboys have the ability to franchise tag him the next two seasons. The franchise tag number for a defensive end this season is $22 million. According to OverTheCap.com, the projected franchise tag number for a defensive end next season will be a little over $26.5 million.
“We really got three years to work this thing out,” Jones said, before explaining how he did the same thing with franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, who is the NFL’s highest-paid player at $60 million per season. “We couldn’t agree so Dak played the last year of his contract and then we franchised him. It’s exactly what happened with Dak, so we moved forward and ultimately we got a contact, made Dak the highest-paid player in the NFL. So the precedent is handling it like Dak.
“But in this particular case, then Micah comes in and plays this year under his contract. If he doesn’t, then it’s very costly, very costly for everybody.”
Parsons has been attending training camp practices, taking part in the walk-through portions and meetings. But he has not been practicing. It remains to be seen if that will change next week as the Cowboys begin preparation for their season opener at Philadelphia on Sept. 4.
Micah Parsons is here pic.twitter.com/HLOZO4t6g8
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 20, 2025
It’s unrealistic to expect a deal to get done without Jones and Mulugheta talking. That hasn’t happened to this point. And judging by Jones’ comments’ Thursday, it doesn’t sound like he will be the one making the first call.
“Micah and I talked (in March) and then we were going to send it over to the agent,” Jones said. “We had our agreements on terms, amount, guarantees, everything. We were going to send it over to the agent, and the agent said don’t bother because we have all that to negotiate. Well, I had already negotiated. I already moved off my mark in several areas. So the issue, very frankly, is we’ve had the negotiation in my mind. And the agent is trying to get his nose in it right now and try to come in there and improve off the mark that we had already set.
“We’ve got this deal resolved in my mind, for the Dallas Cowboys. We’ve got it done. And if the agent wants to finish up the details, which he should, and do all the paperwork, he can do that. And we’re ready to go. But as far as the amount of money, the years, the guarantees, all of that, we’ve negotiated that.”
Jerry Jones when asked on @FoxNews about how close the Cowboys are to getting a deal done with Micah Parsons pic.twitter.com/ckmJ9FqIJv
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 21, 2025
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)