Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Cowboys' Stephen Jones stuns fans with strange comments on Micah Parsons negotiations

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI | By Tyler Reed | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 3:27 PM ET

The Dallas Cowboys have put on the pads. The team began practicing with pads on Sunday, but to no surprise, there was an obvious omission in practice.

Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons did not walk out of the locker room in Oxnard, California, with pads and a helmet on.

Parsons is in the middle of a contract negotiation with Cowboys ownership, and team EVP Stephen Jones spoke about the negotiations with the media at Sunday's practice.

In what sounded like a chip off the old block, Jones made a comment that will surely go viral regarding Parsons' potential new deal when asked about his thoughts on "Pay Micah" chants from fans during Saturday's practice.

"It doesn’t change anything. We want to pay Micah too," Jones said. "He’s gotta want to be paid."

The younger version of his father, Jerry, Stephen said that Parsons has to want to get paid if the two sides want to get a deal done this offseason.

What in the world does that even mean? Is that ownership talk for hoping your best player takes a discount?

There's no mistake; this is all on purpose by the Cowboys' front office. No other team in the league would want to drag along their best players like this every offseason, right?

Well, the Cincinnati Bengals might, but don't let Jerry and Stephen get wind of someone holding out longer than them.

The Joneses. Keeping the Cowboys in the headlines for all the wrong reasons for my entire life.

This article first appeared on Dallas Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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