Micah Parsons’ public demand to be traded from the Dallas Cowboys is just the latest chapter in a decades-long pattern of contentious contract negotiations under owner Jerry Jones. Here’s a full timeline of his disputes.
While Dallas has a long track record of eventually locking up its players, the process is often drawn out and riddled with tension – and the linebacker’s latest situation underscores just how volatile the strategy can be.
Parsons, a two-time All-Pro, became eligible for an extension following the 2023 season, yet no deal materialized through 2024. Now entering the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, he remains unsigned.
This has led to him staying away from training camp and he then escalated matters by requesting a trade, pointing to poor conduct from Jones that appeared to leave him doubting the owner’s good faith integrity. However, the big boss wasn’t too concerned.
What Jerry Jones said about Micah Parsons
“Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re going to have him,” Jones had said. “He was hurt six games last year.
“Seriously. I remember signing a player for the highest-paid at the position in the league, and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year: Dak Prescott.”
Parsons missed four games in 2024 with an ankle injury but remains among the league’s most dominant defensive players, comparable to stars such as T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett.
And now the lack of urgency from Dallas to negotiate early has allowed the price of keeping Parsons to climb steadily, ultimately putting him at odds with the team he claims to love.
The tension between the pair is not an anomaly and since taking control of the Cowboys in 1989, Jones has built a reputation for waiting until the last possible moment to complete major extensions. Here’s a full timeline of the major ones.
Michael Irvin (1992):
After posting a breakout season, Irvin held out of training camp seeking a new deal, although he dispute was resolved just days before the season opener, with Irvin signing a three-year extension.
The deal was worth $1.25 million annually, less than his original ask but regardless he still played Week 1 and contributed to a Super Bowl-winning campaign. Jones won that one.
Dez Bryant (2015):
Despite never holding out, Bryant had to play five seasons before Dallas granted him a long-term deal after a franchise tag in 2015 forced negotiations to the brink regarding the wide receiver.
Ultimately, hours before the deadline, the Cowboys signed him to a five-year, $70 million extension. In the nick of time for the then 26-year-old as he committed his short term future to Texas.
Ezekiel Elliott (2019) and Zack Martin (2023)
Elliott skipped all of training camp in search of a new contract yet Jones remained confident as he insisted he’s always signed a new deal for his players, and true to his word, Elliot won a six-year, $90 million deal days before the regular season opener.
Meanwhile, Martin held out briefly in 2023, ultimately agreeing to a two-year pay adjustment that added $8.5 million and guaranteed both seasons for the offensive linesman.
CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott (2024):
Lamb missed most of training camp while contract talks stalled. Regardless of this, Jones downplayed the urgency of one of the team’s most important assets, despite his leadership being called into question.
The receiver eventually signed a four-year, $136 million deal in late August. Whilst Prescott avoided public posturing but entered the 2024 season without a new deal until hours before kickoff.
Dallas awarded him a four-year, $240 million extension, putting to rest months of speculation and making him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history – ahead of the Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love.
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