Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones is being forced to fire back at an unflattering narrative about how the team has handled Micah Parsons’ contract negotiations.
With Parsons still unsigned at the start of training camp and the Cowboys seemingly delaying the start of talks, some have gone as far as to accuse the organization, particularly owner Jerry Jones, of dragging out the negotiation process to receive maximum media attention. ESPN’s Kevin Clark went viral for arguing that point on “First Take” last week by suggesting that Jones values the attention even more than he values championships.
Kevin Clark: "When I look at Jerry Jones, I think of one thing: If the football Gods came down and said, 'Jerry, you get to win the next three Super Bowls… but the catch is, you can't do a press conference…' he looks at the football Gods and says, 'no deal.'" pic.twitter.com/sIHyIWsci8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 22, 2025
Stephen Jones addressed that Tuesday in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, arguing that it takes all parties to come to a swift agreement in a negotiation.
“We don’t agree on that. We don’t drag deals out,” Jones said when asked about the viral claims, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “We do deals when there’s an opportunity to do a deal. Certainly, no one knows what goes on internally with a particular negotiation. Sometimes players and agents aren’t ready to pull the trigger until they see other cards played.
“What we’re not going to do is go out and do something that’s not responsible in terms of just in the name of getting a deal done one month earlier go do it and pay the guy another $5 million of your cap space.”
The issue with Jones’ argument is that the Cowboys only make these deals more expensive for themselves by waiting as long as they do. In March, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett reset the market by getting $40 million annually, which Parsons took note of. That deal has already been surpassed by the one TJ Watt signed with Pittsburgh, and one would imagine Parsons wants something similar from Dallas.
Garrett remains in search of a new contract as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. He has 52.5 sacks in 63 NFL games, and Dallas fans are starting to get frustrated with the organization over the lack of movement on an extension.
