The Cowboys’ decision to trade their star rusher to the Packers wasn’t really about cap space or roster construction—it was about Jerry Jones’s stubbornness. Prior to the start of this season, Jones and the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons for Kenny Clark and two first-round picks.[1] By Parsons’s own account, his departure from Dallas was “super toxic.”[2]
Parsons is in the final year of his rookie contract and he had been attempting to negotiate an extension; but, according to multiple reports, those negotiations halted when Parsons insisted on involving his NFLPA-certified agent, David Mulugheta.[3] Jones has denied that Mulugheta’s attendance caused the impasse. He insisted that he and Parsons had a “handshake” extension agreement that Parsons then reneged on.[4] Mulugheta has explicitly denied that a handshake agreement ever existed, as Parsons did not believe he was negotiating a contract during the conversation that Jones references.[5] He has added that this wasn’t the first time that Jones had refused to work with him: Mulugheta was rebuffed by Jones when he attempted to open extension talks at the 2024 and 2025 NFL Combines.[6]
Mulugheta has requested an investigation of the issue, but it doesn’t seem that this is a straightforward violation of the NFL CBA, or any other league rule. In Article 4, Section 8, the CBA requires that “any Club . . . engaged in negotiations for a Player Contract . . . is under an obligation to negotiate in good faith.”[7] But, Jones may be able to argue that he had been negotiating with Parsons in good faith: reports have stated that the extension at the heart of Jones’s handshake agreement was for $202.5 million, a figure that surpasses the $188 million deal that Parsons eventually signed with the Packers.[8]
Beyond the requirement for good faith in negotiations, the CBA only addresses player agents in Article 48, where it states that the NFLPA is the entity that regulates them.[9] The core requirement of Article 48 is that “[c]lubs are prohibited from engaging in individual contract negotiations with any agent who is not . . . duly certified by the NFLPA.”[10] This requirement stated in Article 48 has been perhaps the NFL’s only concern regarding negotiations with agents. It doesn’t seem that the NFL CBA has specifically contemplated a team declining to negotiate with a player‘s agent, as it doesn’t seem that an incident like this has occurred in the past.
Despite Parsons’s departure from Dallas, this saga may continue. Mulugheta also represents Cowboys receiver George Pickens, who is in the final year of his rookie deal.[11] While Pickens has downplayed immediate extension talks, the Parsons episode foreshadows how more factors than yards and dollar signs might play a role in those conversations.
[1] Jaclyn Hendricks, Micah Parsons details ‘super toxic’ Cowboys ending after Packers debut, New York Post (Sep. 8, 2025).
[2] Id.
[3] Sportsnet Staff, Parsons’ agent denies Jones’ claim of handshake agreement, Sportsnet (Sep. 2, 2025).
[4] Joel Corry, Agent’s Take: Putting Jerry Jones’ ‘handshake’ agreement with Cowboys stat Micah Parsons into context, CBS Sports (Aug. 27, 2025).
[5] Sportsnet Staff, Parsons’ agent denies Jones’ claim of handshake agreement, Sportsnet (Sep. 2, 2025).
[6] Erich Richter, Micah Parsons’ agent gives rare look at tense Cowboys negotiations as contract drama simmers, New York Post (Aug. 7, 2025).
[7] National Football League Collective Bargaining Agreement, art. 4, § 8 (“Good Faith Negotiation”).
[8] Kristen Wong, New Report Details the Numbers of Jerry Jones’s Imaginary Deal With Micah Parsons, Sports Illustrated (Aug. 28, 2025).
[9] National Football League Collective Bargaining Agreement, art. 4, § 8 (“Union Representation and Agents”).
[10] Id.
[11] Tyler Sullivan, Cowboys trade for George Pickens: Why things just got more awkward for Dallas after acquiring Steelers WR, CBS Sports (May 7, 2025).
