Micah Parsons contract negotiation: Jerry Jones compares process to Emmitt Smith, Dak Prescott

by: Grant Grubbs 8 minutes ago grant_grubbs_

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seemingly isn’t worried about Micah Parsons ‘ contract negotiations. Last week, the star EDGE officially requested a trade after the team failed to reach out to his agent about a new contract.

The exercised the fifth-year option on Parsons’ rookie contract, but will have to either sign him to a new contract or franchise tag him after this season to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. In an exclusive interview with USA Today ‘s Jarrett Bell, Jerry Jones compared Parsons’ situation to previous Cowboys contract negotiations.

“It took a long time with Emmitt Smith ,” Jones said. “Same thing with (Zack) Martin two years ago.  (CeeDee) Lamb  last year. When you have the ability for players under contract to basically renegotiate or say, ‘I’m not going to play the contract,’ then you have those things happen.”

Emmitt Smith infamously held out in 1993, awaiting a new contract from the Cowboys. The star running back skipped all of the Cowboys’ training camp and the team’s first two games before the organization finally relented.

Jones was in his fourth year as the Cowboys’ owner at the time. More recently, CeeDee Lamb skipped the Cowboys voluntary workouts, mandatory minicamp and training camp last season while holding out for a new contract.

In turn, he and the Cowboys agreed on a a four-year, $136 million deal, with $100 million guaranteed and a $38 million signing bonus. Unlike Smith and Lamb, Parsons isn’t skipping the Cowboys’ training camp, in order to avoid fines from the NFL.

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