Inside The Troubled Road To Micah Parson's Trade Request

Forbes

2 days ago

After constant offseason rumblings of displeasure about his contract situation, Micah Parsons officially demanded a trade from the Dallas Cowboys via an online post on X.
Parsons made it known at 1:16 central time in the form of a three-page iCloud notes segment posted to his X account. In it, he vividly described how he wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy but that the relationship fractured due to closed door negotiations without his agent David Mulugheta present and narratives created and spread to the media.
According to Parsons, he reached out to the Dallas Cowboys about getting a deal done following his third season with the team. Dallas refused to do so, but Parsons obliged and decided to focus on the upcoming 2024 season.
Last season, Parson posted his third consecutive double-digit sack season at 12.o despite missing four games due to a Grade Three high ankle sprain. It was the first time the four-year pro ever missed NFL time due to an injury.
Following that campaign, Parsons recalled telling his agent David Mulugheta again about reopening contract negotiations with the Cowboys. Mulugheta advised him to wait for other fellow pass-rushers to reset the market first with their paydays before his client pursued his, but Parsons refused.
The Penn State standout only wished to secure a lengthy deal with the team that drafted him as soon as possible.
'I knew I would be leaving money on the table, but again I was okay with that,' Micah stated.
Parsons advances were met with organizational silence by the Cowboys front office. It wasn't until March when the four-time Pro Bowler met with Cowboys Vice President Stephen Jones to have a conversation about leadership that contract talks officially began between he and the Dallas front office.
'Yes I engaged in a back and forth in regard to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation,' Parsons stated. 'I informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out thinking things would get done, but when my agent reached out and spoke to Adam, he was told that a deal was pretty much done.'
Adam is Adam Prasifka, the senior director of salary cap/player contracts for the Dallas Cowboys. According to Parsons, his agent went to the team's money man to get the ball rolling on an extension just for Prasifka to say a deal was already being finalized.
'My agent of course told him that was not the case and also reached out to Stephen Jones,' Parsons said. 'Again, the team decided to go silent.'
Dallas's best defender decided to put the ball back in the Cowboys front office's court to initiate negotiations with him and Mulugheta. According to Parsons, not a call, text or email was sent to his agent.
'Up to today, the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract,' Parsons said. 'Not one demand has been made by my agent about money years or anything else. Still, I stayed quiet but again after repeated shots at myself and all the narratives I have made a tough decision I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys.'
While Parsons made the trade demand public to the entire sports world, he himself stated that he submitted his formal trade request personally to Stephen Jones.
During the 'Opening Day Ceremony' at Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, Dallas fans erupted with chants saying 'Pay Micah' as their team's best player was left without a deal. Team owner Jerry Jones was in attendance and was asked by ESPN to comment on the anxious declarations made by his organization's fanbase.
"I heard it light, but not compared to how I heard them say, 'Pay Lamb (last year),'" Jones told ESPN, comparing the Parsons situation to CeeDee Lamb's extension last offseason. "That was a faint little sound compared to the way they were hollering last year, 'Pay Lamb.' Whoever's not in, you can count on a few hollering that. But it was a big loud chant last year on Lamb."
Last season, wideout Ceedee Lamb received a four-year $136 million contract following his league-leading reception campaign in 2023. This was also around the time Parsons voiced to Jones he was open to wait on his deal while ownership figured out payments for Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott.
Time has passed since then and Parsons has voiced his desires for an extension that starts at 40 million-plus annually. However, Jerry Jones has made various comments since the spring that he wants to pay Parsons on his own desired terms.
There was Jones dismissing Mulugheta's presence at the negotiating table and advocating to just speak to Parsons on a owner-player type setting. He also voiced the importance of staying healthy in order to desire a long-term deal which was a direct shot at Parsons' recently injured-marred campaign.
"Contracts are four, five years, OK? There's a lot of water under the bridge if you step out there and do something in the first two or three," Jones said in early July. "You can get hit by a car, seriously. So there's a lot to look at over a lot of years that could make a big difference. Have you ever heard of any clubs committing to players and then they didn't pan out after they committed to them? We have."
Through four seasons, Parsons has posted 52.5 sacks, 9 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries as a member of the Cowboys. In the process, he's collected three All-Pro nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year for his career endeavors.