NBC Sports broadcaster Mike Tirico during the US Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jerry Jones' salary cap failures led to Micah Parsons trade, NFL announcer says

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI
By Randy Gurzi | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 6:34 PM ET

As expected, the Dallas Cowboys were able to put the Micah Parsons' drama behind them ahead of Week 1. Of course, they resolved his contract negotiation by shipping him off to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

The decision to trade Parsons shocked the NFL world, and led to a lot of heat for Jerry Jones. While most critics are pointing to Jones failing to get enough in exchange for Parsons, Mike Tirico had a different take.

Tirico, one of the more beloved sportscasters, was a guest on The Varsity podcast and told John Ourand that the high-profile trade highlights how far behind successful franchises Dallas truly is.

"You can say the Cowboys have not been as pinpoint, ahead of the game, as the other successful franchises in managing the cap when it comes to big-ticket items. When you sit in the chair, whatever Jerry's chair is ... you have to think of the future. This trade does have some future thoughts in mind," Tirico said, as transcribed by The Big Lead.

"Because they were heading down a road where, Dak Prescott, number-1 paid player in average annual value, at $60 million a year. CeeDee Lamb, third among wide receivers only behind Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson, and then Micah would have been at the top of the market for defensive players. So you can't field another 50 (players) when your three are gaining 40, 42, 46, maybe even 50 percent of the cap."

He said the Cowboys haven't been the most effective team when it comes to managing the salary cap, which is a fair point. Dallas allowed their most recent contract negotiations to drag out to the point that they've had to reset the market twice with the same player, giving Dak Prescott mega deals in 2021 and again in 2024.

Had they been quicker with Prescott, they might have been able to sign Parsons in 2024 when his salary would have been significantly lower. They not only waited, but allowed it to play out so long that they lost leverage on the trade market as well. That led to a perfect summation by Tirico.

"I don't know if this was handled as well as it could've been," Tirico said.