How Cowboys' rift with Parsons' agent sparked blockbuster trade

Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons. Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How Cowboys' rift with Micah Parsons' agent sparked blockbuster trade

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 5:55 PM ET

Micah Parsons now plays somewhere else due in part to the Dallas Cowboys' underhanded tactics in contract negotiations with the EDGE.

On Thursday, the Cowboys traded the four-time Pro Bowler to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, ending a heated contract dispute. The 26-year-old has since signed a four-year, $186M extension.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones contacted Parsons about his contract during the league meeting in April. However, His agent, David Mulugheta, wasn't involved in the conversation. The defensive standout also didn't believe it was a formal negotiation because Jones said he was calling him to discuss the team's leadership situation.

"If you're a [then-25-year-old football player], and your boss, who happens to be the most powerful person in the NFL, starts talking about contracts, it's hard to end that conversation," the agent said Tuesday on ESPN's "First Take." "I'm not sure if there is a miscommunication there by the time Micah walked out, but at no point did Micah believe that he was negotiating a contract."

In a story published Tuesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Don Van Natta Jr. reported the Cowboys made him an offer during the meeting. Sources said "it was north of $150M" and included more guaranteed money than the Packers gave him ($136M).

Understandably, Parsons didn't want to sign a deal without his agent. Dallas, though, kept avoiding negotiating with Mulugheta throughout the process. He didn't speak with ESPN for the story, but his agency said they never saw the final structure or the final details of the deal the Cowboys offered.

From what Parsons told Mulugheta, it didn't sound like the best deal for his client. The agent said the first three years of the contract's cash flow wouldn't have made Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. It was also a five-year deal.

Mulugheta still made one last effort to reach an agreement with Dallas, sending it an email on Aug. 26. The team told him to take it or leave it. Two days later, Parsons was traded to the Packers.

"I think the most important thing is that Micah wanted to be a Cowboy," Mulugheta said. "He grew up cheering for the Cowboys, wore the blue and white at Penn State, and wore it in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. He wanted to be a Cowboy. We did everything we could for him to remain a Cowboy."

Despite that, Dallas kept trying to bypass the agent, which is one big reason Parsons is no longer a Cowboy.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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