Micah Parsons contract negotiation: Stephen A. Smith finds deeper meaning in Jerry Jones disrespect

The Micah Parsons contract negotiation has become personal on both ends. Jerry Jones has been front and center through the whole thing, not afraid to express his feelings. Parsons recently requested a trade away from the Cowboys, while Jones points out a contract still needs to be honored for the 2025 season.

ESPN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is one who believes Parsons will be out there for Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles due to his contract. However, Stephen A. Smith sees a deeper meaning to this whole Parsons situation. He believes people around the NFL are noticing how Jones is acting, wondering if it’s happened to past players.

“The Jerry Jones of the world and owners like that and executives are counting on the Doggies (Russo) of the world to think ‘He’s getting paid $21 million a year. He’s under contract.’ That’s it, I’ll see you Week 1,” Smith said Wednesday on First Take. “It stops there because that’s the bottom line for most commentators, reporters, etc., etc. etc. It goes a little bit deeper with others because we see it differently. Doesn’t make Doggie wrong but what it points out is how the industry of sports relies on that kind of thinking to kind of gloss over the things that have transpired that are offensive to a lot of people.

“It ain’t just about Micah Parsons. You’ve got a whole lot of cats out here who are looking at what’s happening with him in terms of the treatment he’s being accorded. And they’re like ‘What the hell is going on?’ Did that happen to Tony Romo? Did that happen to Troy Aikman? Did that happen to a bunch of players that played for Jerry Jones? A few of them, it’s never happened and it’s never happened like this.”

Russo went on to say that once the season starts, not many people will care about how Parsons has been treated. Smith disagreed, along with two other analysts on the set. Louis Riddick and Ryan Clark were there discussing the topic as well, going against Russo’s thought process.

Kick off is not too far away, with the Cowboys and Eagles set to square off on Sept. 4. Whether or not Parsons is on the field will be a massive storyline heading into the game. If he decides to hold out, the contract negotiation will be taken to a completely new level.