Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys are once again the leading topic of conversation around the NFL during training camp, this time for their latest contract holdout saga with Micah Parsons. It has become a seemingly an annual tradition in Dallas that Jones gets in a contract standoff with a star. While it typically ends with a deal getting done, this time Jones antagonized Parsons to the point of a formal and public trade request.
A big reason for that request is Jones, in the eyes of Parsons, trying to negotiate directly with him and not talking with Parsons’ agent.
Jones tried to explain why he’s doing that, and brought up negotiations with Jay-Z and Dez Bryant from 10 years ago as his reasoning.
“Because when we have a problem with the player, the agent is nowhere to be found,” Jones told reporters. “Jay-Z said that Dez would make all meetings. Jay-Z and I negotiated the contract, spent hours. He said, ‘Anybody in my organization is on time.’ He said, ‘My office used to be on the street corner, and I’ve always been early. So, they will be on time.’ And what did I say? I said, ‘I’m going to call you [when I have a problem].’ He quit taking my call.”
Bryant was the first to respond to Jones invoking their negotiations from a decade ago, making clear that if Jones wants to bring up his name, he has a story time of his own about things he’s kept quiet from his time in Dallas.
Jay-Z’s agency, Roc Nation Sports, also issued a statement on Sunday morning in response to Jones’ “comical” comments, providing details of those negotiations and how they struck a deal with the Cowboys at a nightclub on a napkin.
“In 2015, at the 21 Club, on a napkin, Jerry Jones, Juan Perez, Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter and Stephen Jones negotiated a five-year, $70 million deal, which included a $45 million guarantee and a $20 million signing bonus for Dez Bryant. At the time, it was the second-largest contract for a wide receiver in NFL history. The claim that Mr. Carter or Roc Nation representatives did not return a call from Jerry Jones is not only a false statement, but it’s also a comical one.”
To recap, Jerry Jones has now frustrated not only Micah Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta and Athletes First with this negotiation, but has also upset Roc Nation Sports by making what they say are false statements about a 10-year old negotiation. There is never a dull moment in Dallas with Jones in charge, but at some point Cowboys fans would probably love to see one drama-free camp, just to see what it’s like.