The Dallas Cowboys’ contract negotiations with All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons took another viral turn Tuesday after team owner and general manager Jerry Jones decided to pick a fight with Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta.
Jones said he has spent “five, six hours” agreeing on most of the parameters of Parsons’ contract with the 25-year-old, four-time Pro Bowler himself. Those conversations excluded Parsons’ agent, and Jones claimed to not even know Mulugheta’s name, per The Athletic.
That’s [an agent] not something you should be worrying about. You should be worrying about your ability to make it work, and you should be worried about what the player does. Does he have good enough health? Does he have good enough skill to do what you’re paying him the money for.
The agent is not a factor here, of something to worry about. And I don’t know his name. And so my point is, I’m not trying to demean him in any way, but this isn’t about an agent. The agent doesn’t have one thing to do with what we’re doing when we get on the football field against a team. Micah does. To the degree I’m involved, I do. The people that have something to do with what we do going forward relative to our fans and football are me and the player, not the agent.
Frankly, most people that negotiate with me will tell you that it was better off than negotiating with anybody else, Stephen [Jones], or anybody involved. This is not uncommon. I negotiated directly as far back as Emmitt [Smith], Deion [Sanders]. We, by the way, have maintained relationships that have lasted well past their playing days.
Parsons clearly didn’t appreciate the lack of respect shown Mulugheta’s way, so he took to social media on Tuesday to emphatically support his agent.
Some perceived Jones exclusively talking to Parsons about the contract as his attempt to circumvent Mulugheta in order to secure a more team-friendly contract, but the All-Pro is ensuring his agent will be the real negotiator with Dallas. That’s a wise move on Parsons’ part considering all the major deals Mulgheta has successfully negotiated for some of his other big-name clients.
Recent notable contracts negotiated by David Mulugheta
- Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson (five years, $230 million fully guaranteed)
- Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love (four years, $220 million with $160.3 million guaranteed)
- Carolina Panthers CB Jaycee Horn (four years, $100 million with $72 million guaranteed)
- Los Angeles Chargers S Derwin James (four years, $76.532 million with $42 million guaranteed)
- Atlanta Falcons S Jessie Bates III (four years, $64.02 million with $36 million guaranteed)
- Arizona Cardinals S Budda Baker (three years, $54 million with $29.366 million guaranteed)
- Las Vegas Raiders DL Christian Wilkins (four years, $110 million with $82.75 million guaranteed)
- Miami Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey (three years, $72.3 million with $24.235 million guaranteed)
- New York Giants S Jevon Holland (three years, $45.3 million with $30.3 million guaranteed)
- Green Bay Packers S Xavier McKinney (four years, $67 million with $23 million guaranteed)
One of those players, Jalen Ramsey, backed up Parsons and Mulugheta in his own social media post on Tuesday.
Jones chose to pick a fight with one of the NFL’s biggest power brokers in the agent ranks, and that could have a negative consequence on the price he’ll have to pay to secure Parsons’ services for the foreseeable future. Parsons is set to enter 2025 on his fifth-year option, the final year of his rookie contract.
Agent’s Take: The exploding edge rusher market and who is in line for the next big payday
Joel Corry
Read the full article here
