Micah Parsons’ agent discusses Jerry Jones, what led to Cowboys trading his client to Packers

While he said that he tries to avoid the spotlight, David Mulugheta, the agent of new Packers Pro Bowl pass rusher Micah Parsons, felt compelled to speak out on Tuesday amid all the noise that has been swirling amid the blockbuster trade involving Parsons and his subsequent divorce from the Cowboys. 

After months of back-and-forth, Parsons was ultimately dealt to the Packers, where he agreed to a four-year, $188 million deal includes $120 million guaranteed. In exchange for Parsons, the Cowboys received two-first round picks — one in 2026 and another in 2027 — and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

“We assumed that it would be like any other negotiation,” Mulugheta said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “They would reach out or they would allow me to reach out and commence negotiations. … I’m not sure how this turned the way it did. We were open to negotiate. … I reached out to (Cowboys VP) Steven Jones and asked him to start negotiations. But for some reason, coming out of that conversation, Jerry believed that he had reached an agreement and he was not open to negotiate any further.”

Mulugheta was alluding to a March 18 meeting between Parsons and Jerry Jones, who serves as the Cowboys’ owner and general manager. While Jones believes that a “hand shake” agreement had been made during that meeting with Parsons regarding Parsons’ contract, Parsons doesn’t feel that way. The two sides also don’t see eye-to-eye on the reasoning for said meeting. Jones believes that it was centered on Parsons’ contract; Parsons felt that it was a meeting to discuss leadership. 

That disconnect played a crucial role in the two sides never being able to come to terms on a longterm agreement, despite Parsons’ desire to remain in Dallas. 

“Michael wanted to be a Cowboy,” Mulugheta said. “You know, he grew up cheering for the Cowboys. Wore the blue and white at Penn State, wore it in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. He wanted to be a Cowboy. We did everything we could for him to remain a Cowboy.”

Mulugheta also addressed reports that Jerry Jones did initially make Parsons an offer that would have made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, a distinction he now has after signing his deal with the Packers. 

“Sometimes, you got to be a little careful with what you read in the media,” he said. “There’s so much that goes into an NFL contract. If you look at many of these contracts that the Cowboys have done over the past few years and the recent ones, the guarantees don’t stretch much further than the first new year. If you look at Micah’s current deal, he has guarantees into four years from now. So again, there are certain things that have been put out in the media to make it look as though Micah had turned down a fair or a great deal. But that’s simply not the case,” 

When pressed, Mulugheta got into specifics regarding what the Cowboys offered his client. 

“So from an (average per year) standpoint, for just looking at the average that there was offered to him, I believe it was $40.5 million was that offer, which would have made him, at the time, from an APY standpoint, the highest paid,” he said. “That being said, the way the cash flow was structured, over his first three new years, he would not be paid as the paid player in the NFL. So again, that’s why I say the devil’s in the details. 

“And another important part of the contract was a four-year deal versus a five-year deal. When you look at that, that fifth year could be the difference in $30 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 of Nick Bosa. Now, it’s $47 million in one year with Michael Parsons. So four years from now, what do you think that number is? It’s probably closer to $65, $70 million a year. And if we lock in that fifth year at $40 million, just that year alone is worth an additional $30 million to Micah, if not more. And that’s not even counting the raise that he got for the next four years, or the fact that the Packers were good enough to us that they gave us the fifth-year option as a linebacker this year as opposed to a defensive end. So that’s an additional $3 million. 

“The difference between those two deals you’re looking at could be possibly, you know, $60, $70 million when it’s all said and done.” 

Mulugheta also addressed previous speculation that Parsons may have held out into the regular season if he and the Cowboys had not come to terms on a new deal. He said that Parsons “loves the game too much” to skip regular season games. He added that Parsons was preparing to play in Dallas’ season-opener against the Packers prior to being traded. 

As far as his future dealings with the Cowboys, Mulugheta plans to keep things business as usual. He was specifically asked about another one of his clients, Cowboys wideout George Pickens, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. 

“There’s nothing personal here,” he said. “It’s a business transaction as far as the contract is concerned. So if George Pickens does what we expect him to do, which is be one of the best receivers in the NFL this year, we’ll have those conversations with the Cowboys. If they’re open to having that dialog with us and negotiating long term deal, then, you know, we’d love for George Pickens to be a star with a star in his helmet. But if that’s not the case, then obviously we’ll see what else is out there for him. But again, this is not gonna affect any negotiations moving forward for us.”