"Clown show": 3x Super Bowl champ flames Cowboys billionaire owner Jerry Jones over Micah Parsons' contract situation
As Micah Parsons awaits a mega-extension that could make him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is under fire again. This time, the criticism comes from three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth, who didn’t mince words while breaking down the contract drama in Dallas.
On FS1’s The Carton Show, Schlereth called out Jones for blurring the lines between ownership and front-office responsibilities, especially after the longtime owner publicly claimed preferring negotiating directly with players and not their agents.
“This is why a head coach shouldn’t be a GM. This is why the owner shouldn’t be the GM. This is why you should hire somebody to do his job,” Schlereth said.
“Because if you had a GM operating and negotiating this contract, you could sit there as the owner and say, ‘Hey, Micah and I are tight. We have talked about it.’
"It’s the GM’s job to get this thing done, as opposed to the owner, who is just spouting. … The deal will get done. But again, it just makes you look at the ownership, makes you look at this upstairs, a clown show.”
Micah Parsons deal looms, but negotiation process sparks questions
Micah Parsons is entering the final year of his rookie contract after three straight All-Pro seasons. With contract talks heating up, the Cowboys face mounting pressure to finalize a deal that could eclipse Nick Bosa’s current record $34 million AAV.
However, the headlines haven’t been about guaranteed money or contract length. Instead, they’ve been about how Jones is handling it. His claim about not knowing Parsons' agent David Mulugheta left many shaking their heads, including current and former players.
Jones insists a deal will get done “in due time,” but critics like Schlereth believe the process reflects poorly on Dallas’ structure, where Jones serves as both owner and GM.
If the Cowboys don’t lock in their defensive cornerstone soon, the noise around their negotiation approach could get louder than the number on Micah Parsons’ eventual contract.