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Do not underestimate the value of the culture the Vikings have built under the Wilf's as an attractive player destination. Here is how NOT to do it, courtesy of Jerry Jones and his Cowboys:
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Beyond the question of whether history will look kindly or poorly upon the Micah Parsons trade, the manner in which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones handled Parsons and his agent, David Mulugheta, could leave a mark.
Here’s an unsolicited text that arrived from a long-time agent during Friday’s edition of PFT Live:
“You have no idea how damaging this episode is for the Cowboys as it relates to the entire agent community. We all talk and nobody would ever willingly steer their clients to that team. Make no mistake, they’ve never been a honest or good organization, but since [Jerry] so brazenly disrespected and went behind the back of a top player’s top agent, they are in serious trouble moving forward. This is really one of those ‘time to take the car keys away’ moments.”
Ultimately, money goes a long way toward getting players and agents to do business with a team. But that could require the Cowboys to overpay to get the guys they want. No team should want to have to do that.
Ideally, a team becomes the obvious choice when the dollars are equal. Even better, a team wants to be the preferred destination, even if other teams are offering more.
Jerry’s insistence that agents are simply bystanders and not equal partners will not endear him to other agents. He has displayed — for months — a fundamental lack of respect for agent David Mulugheta. And, yes, other agents have noticed.
Meanwhile, who ultimately won? Mulugheta took the high road by never taking Jerry’s bait. Mulugheta had a strategy. He implemented it. And he got Parsons a contract with a new-money average of $47 million per year. And he got Parsons the new team that, as a result of the chronic disrespect Jerry displayed, Parsons decided he wanted.
That won’t prompt the Cowboys to admit a mistake. They’ll claim they won, even if Parsons propels the Packers to a Super Bowl win and if the Cowboys keep watching NFC Championship games from home.
Look at it this way. The Cowboys rushed to throw a “this is fine” press conference last night in order to persuade media, and fans, that they got what they wanted and that they’ll be better for it.
Did the Packers feel compelled to convene the media and make the case for why they did what they did? No. They’re content to let the results speak for themselves.
As they likely will.
This is something that will unfold in apparent fashion based on how the Cowboys and Packers fare in the coming seasons. As it relates to free agency in 2026 and beyond, we’ll see if the Cowboys win the jump balls when competing with other teams.
Or if they’ll have to splash the pot a little more aggressively than others in order to convince players and agents to subject themselves to the same kind of disrespect that was displayed to one of the best players in the entire league.
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