Micah Parsons contract dispute: Jerry Jones claims Dallas Cowboys have star LB for three years ‘no matter what’

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been on a bit of a media tour over the past few weeks, all while he’s engaged in a contentious contract dispute with superstar linebacker Micah Parsons . On Thursday, that included lengthy podcast interviews with former Cowboys star WR Michael Irvin and ESPN talking head Steven A. Smith, the latter of which hit the airwaves Friday afternoon.

During his hour-long friendly sit-down with Stephen A. Smith, Jones repeatedly made it clear he and the Cowboys hold all the cards with regard to the ongoing Parsons contract negotiations. That includes completely shooting down any potential trade speculation.

“Other than I, other than me, other than an assignee of mine — any talk of trading is BS,” Jones told Smith. “There’s nothing to it. It’s just nothing to it.”

That conversation led Smith to ask Jones how he views Parsons. Smith called the All-Pro linebacker “the face of the (Dallas Cowboys) franchise.”

“I’m glad you recognize that and we’ve got him for three years no matter what,” Jones said definitively.

Smith then asked Jones how he would handle it if another NFL team offered the Cowboys the moon — or more likely another All-Pro player and multiple first-round draft picks — in a trade for Parsons. To which the longtime Cowboys owner once again affirmed Parsons’ status in Dallas for the foreseeable future.

“He’s the best player … (and) we’ve got him,” Jones said. “And we’ve got him for three more years. And he’ll play a lot of games (for the Dallas Cowboys). … Just know this, … since you think so much of him, please say it often, because we do have him, and we’re proud to have him.”

Jerry Jones explains why agent David Mulugheta doesn’t need to be involved in negotiations

It’s become clear that Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones doesn’t feel the need for agent David Mulugheta to be involved in contract negotiations with star linebacker Micah Parsons. Jones thought he had a deal agreed to with Parsons when the two met earlier in the offseason that would make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Jones told ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith that from his point of view, Mulugheta’s lone task was to “look at the details of the agreement and all the fine print” of the contract. Instead, he believes Mulugheta wanted to interject himself and “get his fingerprints on it.”

“That agent [Mulugheta] is within a phone call of talking about any detail that was there and was available with any detail that was there. We have agreed on how long this is going to be. And we have agreed on the amount of guarantees it’s going to be. The package is the biggest ever pay for a non-quarterback. That’s where we are,” Jones said. “But because a third party rather than me and Micah has got to come in — why, because he’s got to get his fingerprints on it? C’mon, please. He’s got to get his fingerprints on it?

“… There’s no need for him to come into this agreement except to look at all the details of the agreement and all the fine print and all of that. But then, he’s got to sit here and say, well, is that something Micah ought to live with or should he take playing under this year’s contact and being franchised for two more years after that. Which one?”

— On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report..