Jerry Jones isn’t just the Dallas Cowboys’ owner—the man’s a mastermind who took risks on the team and turned a financially-struggling team into a global powerhouse. When he bought the Cowboys back in 1989 for $130 million, they were bleeding $1M per month. Fast forward, the America’s Team is now one of the most valuable sports franchises. But it involved a lot of planning. One was him swerving past agents and dealing straight with players. And, surprise, surprise, it’s still there — and not everyone’s loving it.

At the NFL Owners Meetings on Tuesday, Jerry finally broke the silence on Micah Parsons’ contract extension, but not in the way you’d have expected. “I’m the one who has to write the check, & Micah is the one who has to agree to it. That’s the straightest way to get there, the one writing the check and the one agreeing to it talking. I understand all of the other issues. That’s the principle that’s involved here.” But the catch is—his indecisive take on Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, fired back.

Amidst this chaos, the former sports agent, Joel Corry, hopped up to his official X handle, and let’s just say Corry isn’t taking Jerry’s comments lightly. “Jerry Jones has been trying to go around agents for years. He knows he’ll get a better deal from talking directly to the player. A player’s standard response should be ‘Talk to my agent; that’s why I hired him.'”

No point in sugarcoating this mess. See, while addressing Parsons’ contract extension, the Cowboys‘ owner admitted that he’d been in direct contact with the 25-year-old LB for a deal. “I know that I’ve spent five, six hours with him [Micah] myself and had a lot of discussions. Most of the issues, we’re in agreement on,” he said. If you read between the lines, the meeting was without his agent present.

Parsons is reportedly seeking a $200M offer, and JJ knows that he’ll get a better deal from directly communicating with Parsons which he made clear is nothing new.

“Frankly, most people that negotiate with me will tell you that it was better off than negotiating with anybody else, Stephen [Jones], or anybody involved. This is not uncommon. I negotiated directly as far back as Emmitt [Smith], Deion [Sanders]. We, by the way, have maintained relationships that have lasted well past their playing days.”

Back in 1993, Emmitt Smith held out after winning a Super Bowl, missing the first two games of the season, to become the highest paid running back. Jones finally sat down with him, face to face, and hammered out a four-year, $13.6 million deal, fulfilling the star’s wish.

Two years later, in 1995, when the Cowboys were trying to steal Deion Sanders away from the 49ers, Jones took a similar approach. He went all-in on the pitch, leading to a seven-year, $34.98 million contract—with a then-record $11.9 million signing bonus, per Spotrac. That wasn’t just a deal; it was a power move that helped Dallas secure their third Super Bowl in four years.

While Jones’ preference for direct negotiations has drawn criticism, his discussions with Micah didn’t come out of nowhere. In fact, the two attended the Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers last year where Jones caught up with Parsons in the Allegiant Stadium suite. Then, it was the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium this year during the College Football Playoff semifinal between Ohio State and Texas back where the two sat in Jones’ owner’s suite.

But the thing is that Mulugheta isn’t just there to sign papers. Parsons hired the guy because he trusts experts when it comes to negotiating a contract extension. To top that off, Mulugheta has 42 NFL ͏players under his resume, including Parsons, Jordan Love, Jalen Ramsey, Deshaun Watson, Derwin James, and more͏.

So, when Joel Corry suggested that a player should ask, “Talk to my agent; that’s why I hired him,” he meant every word. And Micah Parsons surely knows about that.

Micah Parsons isn’t doing a deal without David Mulugheta

Love him or not, Jones’ money game is arguably top tier. And when it comes to extending Parsons’ contract this spring, Jerry knew how to tackle a massive deal. It couldn’t happen with his agent, so JJ decided to put the agent aside.

“The agent is not a factor here or something to worry about. And I don’t know his name. And so my point is…this isn’t about an agent. The agent doesn’t have one thing to do with what we’re doing when we get on a football field against the team. Micah does,” he said.

Sure, the Cowboys’ boss admitted that he’s not demeaning Parsons’ agent, but that didn’t stop Parsons from firing back. The LB took to his official ‘X‘ handle and straight-up admitted that he’s not doing a deal without his agent.

“Facts!! David is the best and I will not be doing any deal without @DavidMulugheta involved! Like anyone with good sense, I hired experts for a reason. There is no one I trust more when it comes to negotiating contracts than David!” Parsons wrote.

There you go. The 25-year-old LB clearly doesn’t want any cryptic takes on his agent from Jones. And why would he? With the way pass rushers’ contracts are skyrocketing, Parsons is eyeing a massive contract that would make him the highest-paid non-QB in the league. And for that, he needs Mulugheta’s advice.

To make it more interesting, Jerry and Parsons have already discussed the contract terms. But one thing’s for sure: This Micah Parsons-David Mulugheta controversy isn’t going to end soon—until the LB put pen to paper for that massive contract.