On Friday, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons rocked the NFL world by requesting a trade.
Saturday gave Dallas owner Jerry Jones a chance to respond, and he took advantage of the moment.
Speaking with the media at Cowboys’ training camp, Jones made it clear that while he does not want Dallas fans to “lose sleep” over the contract situation, and that he does not want to trade Parsons, there is also the simple fact that “life does go on.”
“I wouldn’t be standing here with you if I didn’t think we potentially had a great future with Micah. We’re in good shape,” said Jones, as quoted by Jon Machota of The Athletic. “This is negotiation. But make no mistake about it, life has to go on if something happens to me or anybody else. Life does go on.”
Jones also indicated that he believes this is simply part of the “negotiation” process:
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says he’s not bothered by Micah Parsons’ trade request. He views it as the same as contract negotiations with other top players. “We’re in good shape. This is negotiation.”
His message to Cowboys fans?
Jones: “Don’t lose any sleep over it.” pic.twitter.com/bUu7UwQIxa
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 2, 2025
“I think the world of Micah. That’s just the part of negotiation. I don’t really place that with any seriousness.”
Parsons requested a trade on Friday, noting in a statement on social media that until “today the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract:”
Jones pushed back on that when addressing the media Saturday, declaring that the offer the team gave Parson back in the spring was taken off the table by the pass rusher himself:
Is the contract offer from back in March to Micah Parsons still on the table?
Jerry Jones: “Micah took it off.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 2, 2025
As for whether the relationship between Jones and Parsons is “salvageable,” Jones said, “I think the relationship is what it is.
“I like Micah.”
As we noted yesterday when word leaked that Parsons was considering “drastic measures,” this truly might all be part of the song-and-dance between player and team. Jones seems to believe that himself, thinking that a deal is going to get done.
There is also a more cynical view held by some, including one of the best sportswriters on the planet who is working on a book about Jones, that this is also part of what the owner enjoys in the summer:
Jerry Jones doesn’t mind paying a few extra million in a mega-contract if he and the Cowboys can generate $100+ million worth of free publicity by dominating the NFL conversation in July and August.
This is Jerry’s pre-season soap opera playbook. Rinse, repeat.
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) August 1, 2025
Yes, even if the attention he gets is negative.
If nothing else, it gives us something to talk about until the games begin for real.