Why Cowboys' Jerry Jones likes talking contracts with players

FRISCO, Texas -- Micah Parsons isn't the first player whom Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has talked to directly about a contract extension. He won't be the last.

It has been a common practice for Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones over the years to engage with their star players in hopes of convincing them to sign a new deal, and then finalizing the details with the player's agent.

There is nothing in the collective bargaining agreement that explicitly prevents the discussions, although several agents said it is not a good look to circumvent them and go to the player who might not know all the details -- details that could end up costing the player money. While the agents work for the players, they are also protecting their own interests by making sure they are involved in all parts of the negotiation.

"We have -- not exaggerating -- probably 30 categories we use to evaluate a deal, whether it's new money, old money, guarantee structure, whatever," one agent, who has experience doing deals with the Cowboys, said. "That's too many moving parts, and it takes more than a handshake."

Parsons' return to AT&T Stadium with the Green Bay Packers to face the Cowboys on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) brings to mind the ending of a relationship that at one time seemed as if it would last the pass rusher's entire career.

In December, Parsons said, "Jerry's my guy." In April, Jerry Jones said Parsons was one of three people who have his personal cellphone number.

Yet four months later, Parsons was traded to the Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 over what could be considered a misunderstanding.

Last March, Jerry Jones thought he and Parsons had reached an agreement on a contract extension that sources said would have guaranteed him roughly $150 million. When the agreement was relayed to Parsons' agent, David Mulugheta, he told the team that he does Parsons' negotiations.

Parsons contended the meeting with Jones was about leadership. Last week he was asked if he felt it was a negotiation.

"Nah, obviously he wants to know where I'm at, what I think," Parsons said. "I'm thinking he wants to know where I'm at with the process, and that's what I thought. Obviously, none of that matters now. I'm here."

The sides never talked again about a contract extension, and the controversial trade was made one week before the Cowboys opened the season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.

The Cowboys' direct approach to negotiating with players has been questioned before and Jerry Jones doesn't hide his desire to work directly with a player.

"Those things that go over those years are treasures with those guys," Jones said. "Their attorney or their agent isn't necessarily anywhere to be found 10 years later. Not only that, sometimes they're not even to be found because one guy in the agency has handed it off to another guy.

"So these guys that are sitting here with your Dallas Cowboys and the people that are out here putting it on the line and going to build memories that are a part of their legacies and their families for years and years, you can't do that though an agency [or] through a third party. At least I can't. ... I want to be in the mix there."

Over the years, the Joneses have worked deals, to varying degrees, with many players -- Tony Romo, Jason Witten, DeMarcus Ware, Zack Martin. The minute details are then worked out by the agent and, effectively, executive VP Stephen Jones with the help of Adam Prasifka, Cowboys senior director of salary cap/player contracts.

But the Cowboys don't force it on a player.

"We do have players that come in and we've totally respected that [when they] say, 'I don't feel comfortable talking about my contract. I'd like you to go through my agent,'" Stephen Jones said. "We do that, respectfully. You're not required to come in and negotiate the contract yourself. All the ones we've done like that are those who request to come in and visit with Jerry or myself. That's the only ones we've done that way."

What is it like when the Joneses step into the discussions with the player?

Quarterback Dak Prescott has had two protracted negotiations with the Cowboys. The first, in 2021, landed him a four-year, $160 million deal. The second, in 2024, made him the highest-paid player in NFL history with a four-year, $240 million deal that included $231 million guaranteed.

"I never engaged in numbers. Never engaged in numbers," Prescott said. "But there was a lot of engagements, especially on this last one. The first one maybe not so much of anything. But this last one, yeah, there was definitely some talks, definitely different talks, particularly with Stephen. And they were great talks, they were phenomenal talks. Honestly, don't know if I do a re-sign if we don't have those conversations, and it was much more than it was the numbers."

If the discussions moved beyond Prescott's future and the direction of the organization, and into contract figures, the quarterback would tell the Cowboys to talk with his agent, Todd France, who is with Athletes First, as is Mulugheta. Prescott agreed to go to dinner with Stephen Jones during training camp while his contract negotiations were ongoing, in part because former and older Cowboys, such as Witten and Martin had told him it was a necessary part of the process.

"You have to play the game," one agent said. "They want to feel the love, the connectivity with the player. But you've got to be willing to give pushback. You've got to be willing to say, 'I can't get into the numbers, that's for my agent to talk about.'"

During the 2006 preseason, the Cowboys wanted to sign Romo to an extension, but the quarterback, who had yet to throw a pass in a regular-season game in his first three years after signing as an undrafted free agent, balked.

Sitting in what Jerry Jones described as a "small closet" inside Texas Stadium before a preseason game, the owner and then-coach Bill Parcells sat knee-to-knee trying to get Romo to sign.

"It had a little shakedown feel to it," Romo said with a laugh in 2013.

Romo held firm in the moment, saying he needed a financial commitment that would force the Cowboys to play him if Drew Bledsoe struggled. He wanted incentives that would become base salary if he played.

Jones agreed and the owner remembered Parcells saying, "We've got us a quarterback."

Appearing on "The Pivot Podcast" in December 2024, Dez Bryant discussed a meeting he had with Jerry Jones at AT&T Stadium when the wide receiver was seeking a contract extension.

"He tried to get me to sign a contract I didn't like. I thought it was some bulls---,'" Bryant said. "I was like, 'I ain't this dumb,' and I'm listening to him and I kinda interrupted him a little bit. I stood up and I was like, 'Mr. Jones, you see that field down there? You think you can cover me?' He said, 'Nah, you will destroy me.' And so I said, 'So what makes you think I can negotiate a contract with you?'"

What makes the Cowboys different from most organizations is how omnipresent Jerry Jones is compared to other owners. And it should be pointed out he is also the general manager. He attends most practices. He is not shy about building relationships with players. Same with Stephen Jones.

"I just think most owners don't want to get involved on that level," said one current GM who has worked in multiple NFL front offices. "Lots of owners like having relationships with the players, but I think if you asked them, they'd tell you they don't want to get directly involved in the negotiations because it could affect those relationships in a negative way. This is just the way Jerry likes to run his team."

The Joneses say they believe there is cachet to a player wearing the star on his helmet. They talk about post-playing days opportunities that come from being in Dallas for a career.

"That's the vibe I got from them," said one former player who negotiated a contract with the Cowboys in the past.

"They know what they're doing. They're trying to get a commitment by playing the Jerry card. We shook hands. We had a deal. We may have had a loose agreement with the numbers, but then the fine details had to be worked out."

Until Parsons, most of the time those deals had been worked out or certainly led to a contract being finalized. Agents know the Cowboys' approach and try to school their clients up as much as possible about what to say and, maybe more importantly, what not to say.

"I think most [agents] are used to it, but I'm fine with it," one longtime agent said. "Because you can use what [the player and Joneses] have said and say, 'This is what they told him, why are we not getting this done?'"

Another agent said, "It's no different than, as an agent, when you're dealing with a cap guy and you feel like you have to go around him to talk to the GM. You might be able to make a different kind of appeal to the GM than you can to the numbers guy."

Years ago, the Cowboys were able to re-sign players earlier and much easier. Pro Bowl offensive linemen Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick got deals done after their third years. On Sept. 13, the Cowboys made left guard Tyler Smith the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in football with a four-year extension worth $96 million. Tyler Smith requested to stay out of the talks and was signed two years before he could have hit free agency.

He was the third player the Cowboys signed since the start of training camp, joining tight end Jake Ferguson (four years, $50 million) and cornerback DaRon Bland (four years, $92 million).

They were set to become free agents after the season. In 2024, the Cowboys were able to re-sign Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but Lamb's contract wasn't finalized until late in training camp, and Prescott's the day of the season opener.

"You knew going into Year 4, you were getting a deal [if they wanted to keep you]," an agent said. "I used to think Jerry liked all of the attention and people talking about the Cowboys, but in the end all [the waiting] has done is cost them more money and pissed people off."

As he went through extension talks the first time, Prescott acknowledged he took the negotiations personally. It was difficult to separate the business from the game. He said he felt there was "tension" between him and the Joneses.

"Going back to after 2020, I'm playing on the franchise tag, I break my ankle, and I say 'tension' more so because we weren't talking," Prescott said. "And honestly, yeah, there'd be times I'd see them [in the facility] and I'm going to go this other way."

When asked how involved players should be in actual negotiations, Parsons said, "It's hard to say."

"I'd say you hire someone that you trust for a reason," Parsons added. "It's like, if you're going to court, you're not saying you trust yourself to fight for yourself, right? You're not doing that, so I'm not going to go into a room with an owner and fight for myself because we don't know everything. We don't know every law, every faction, so that's kind of how I feel about it."

During a mandatory minicamp practice in June, Jerry Jones and Parsons had a long on-field discussion. Afterward, Parsons said the focus of the talk was on leadership, like their March meeting.

Once training camp began there would be no more visible talks between Parsons and the Joneses. During a handful of practices in Oxnard, California, Parsons and the Joneses were often separated by a few yards on the field, but that masked the gulf that never closed in the contract talks.

After making his trade request, Parsons sat on the grass in his No. 11 uniform and watched practice, leaning against the tower in which Jerry Jones sat. On another day, Jones peered down from the perch with Parsons immediately below him.

During the third quarter of the final preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, Parsons was lying on a medical table.

Six days later he was traded.

Thirty-one days later, Parsons returns in the Packers' green and gold.

ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.