Micah Parsons 'wanted to be a Cowboy,' agent says in ESPN interview

Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Sep 2, 2025

Published in Football

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FORT WORTH, Texas — David Mulugheta is one of the most powerful agents in sports, and he appeared on “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday to discuss his client, pass rusher Micah Parsons, and his controversial trade from the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers.

Mulugheta said that normally he would prefer not to speak publicly about the situation, but felt that public comments forced his hand.

“I don’t really do these interviews,” he said. “We try to keep the negotiations out of the media, but in this case, so much information has been put out there that we wanted to just address a couple of things. But as far as Micah was concerned, he wanted to be a Cowboy.

“We did everything we could, and sometimes you got to be a little careful with what you read in the media, as far as what was offered to Micah, the guarantees that were offered, the APY (annual per year) that was offered. There’s so much that goes into an NFL contract.”

He also explained why despite reports that Jones offered Parsons a record-setting contract, the devil was in the details.

“If you look at many of these contracts that the Cowboys have done over the past few years, and the recent ones, the guarantees don’t stretch much further than the first new year,” Mulugheta said. “If you look at Micah’s current deal, he has guarantees into four years from now. So again, there are certain things that have been put out in the media to make it look as though Micah turned down a fair or a great deal, but that’s simply not the case.”

There were also reports that Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a handshake deal on a contract, which Mulugheta denies, saying Parsons never thought he was negotiating on his own behalf.

“As far as Micah’s concerned, he was out of the country, he got a call from Jerry’s assistant and was asked to come in to meet about leadership,” Mulugheta said. “... At some point during that meeting, that was represented to him was going to be about leadership, it turned into contract talks.

“If you're a 25-year-old football player and your boss, who happens to be the most powerful person in the NFL, starts talking about contracts, it’s hard for you to end that conversation. ... At no point did Micah believe that he was negotiating a contract.”

Parsons, Mulugheta and Jones were unable to find mutual accord, resulting in the pass rusher’s trade to the Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks in a move that will have long-term impacts on both franchises.

The trade affected the Super Bowl odds for both teams. The Packers now have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl at 13-1, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, while the Cowboys come in with the 18th-best odds at 55-1.

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