Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons meets with owner Jerry Jones before the NFC Wild Card game against the San Francisco 49ers. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NFL insider thinks Jerry Jones is delaying Micah Parsons' contract for media attention

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI
By Matt Galatzan | Last updated May 31, 2025 4:16 PM ET

Dallas Cowboys training camp is quickly approaching, and their biggest priority - signing star edge rusher Micah Parsons is still far from being completed.

Most believe this is due to the stubbornness of team owner Jerry Jones to make sure that the potential deal is to their liking, while others are of the opinion that this is simply the standard operating procedure for the Cowboys in negotiating with a player in the final year of his deal.

However, one NFL insider has a different, more damaging theory.

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Jones is not holding out to try and obtain a more advantageous deal for the team, but to push forward the media attention that surrounds the situation as long as possible.

"There are many reasons why the Cowboys have gone 30 years without an appearance in the NFC Championship," Florio said. "One very real reason is the chronic stubbornness of owner Jerry Jones to pay his core players sooner than later."

"Our guess? He knows it. And he’d rather have the latest unsettled contract become the top story for sports media than to see his team benefit from the relative irrelevance of peace."

If Florio is correct, then could certainly be construed as a controversial way of doing business. After all, negotiating a massive contract for a star player should only be done with the best interest of the franchise from a football perspective in mind.

Then again, Jones has never been one to shy away from making sure the Cowboys are at the forefront of discussion in the media whenever possible, lending credence to Florio's theory.

Whatever the case, the Cowboys have a consistent history of waiting until the last minute to come to agreements in major contract negotiations. They did with Dak Prescott just one year ago.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how much longer the saga surrounding Parsons continues, and whether or not the two parties can come to an agreement before the start of training camp.

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

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