Ryan Clark says Jerry Jones is lying in comments about Micah Parsons' agent

The Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons remain at an impasse in their long-running contract dispute. With the team’s regular season opener less than two weeks away the situation has become dire. And the drama took an odd turn on Thursday when Jerry Jones claimed that Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta delivered a NSFW message. According to Jones, Mulugheta told him to stick the latest contract offer where the sun don’t shine.

That seemed an odd thing for an agent, who makes a living on percentages of contracts paid by team owners, to say to a team owner. And it’s particularly dubious given Jones’ general disdain for agents and his stated desire to negotiate a deal directly with Parsons.

Former defensive back turned analyst Ryan Clark who, like Jones, never lets a perfectly good spotlight go to waste, weighed in on the Cowboys’ owner’s claim.

“I just hit David Mulugheta and I simply asked him, I said, ‘Did you tell Jerry Jones to stick the contract up his A-S-S?’ … And he laughed. And he said, ‘I’ve never used that phrase in my life,’” Clark said in a video posted to his X account.

“This never happened. This is just another public way to make this situation, which is already ugly, even uglier. David Mulugheta in no way has ever told Jerry Jones or any other general manager or owner that. It’s all bullcrap. It’s all lies,” Clark concluded.

Is the Micah Parsons rift fixable for the Cowboys?

Ryan Clark says Jerry Jones is lying in comments about Micah Parsons' agent — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jones made the claim during an appearance on Michael Irvin’s YouTube show. The eccentric octogenarian also said he offered Parsons a deal that would have made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in football history during that same interview.

Nonetheless, the contract extension drama remains unresolved and Parsons is continuing his hold-in. With negotiations stalled, NFL insider Adam Schefter believes Parsons and the Cowboys are headed towards divorce.

Somewhat hilariously, head coach Brian Schottenheimer has a good feeling about Parsons being ready for Week 1. He can’t point to anything in particular to explain this feeling and all evidence suggests there’s little reason for optimism. But it’s good to stay positive.

Still, it’s difficult to grasp how the Cowboys ended up in this situation. Parsons was a first-round draft pick, All-Pro, Pro Bowler and Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021. He’s long been the team’s best defensive player. Dallas picked up his fifth-year option 16 months ago. The Cowboys essentially had two years to prepare for this and still bungled it.

During Dallas’ disappointing 2024 campaign Parsons was publicly stating that he wanted to be a Cowboy for life. He even broached the idea of taking less money in a long-term deal so the team could surround him with quality players.

Now the Cowboys are 13 days away from the 2025 season opener and their top defender is unsigned. Worse still, Parsons has requested a trade. And Jerry Jones has apparently resorted to spreading misinformation about his star pass rusher’s agent.