One year ago, Dak Prescott was in a very familiar situation.
Intertwined in a contract extension negotiation with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, doubts were present on both sides. Could a deal actually not get done? Would he not return to the only NFL home he’s known when his contract expired at the end of the season?
Micah Parsons is now asking himself a lot of those same questions.
“It’s hard when it’s you,” Prescott said Thursday. “And that’s why I say it’s frustrating as someone who’s been there.”
Parsons’ situation and Prescott’s dilemma from 2024 are not carbon-copy issues, but there are a lot of similarities that Prescott was able to draw upon Thursday when discussing the issue currently at hand. As Parsons awaits a contract extension, he has not practiced through 12 sessions at training camp and has publicly requested a trade.
While tensions are as high as they’ve ever been between Parsons and the front office, Prescott knows that ultimately the two will be able to mend fences.
“At the end of the day, it is business,” he said. “We can’t make something that’s business personal. When you do that, that’s where the division comes. … I support a player that’s doing things the right way, and I think the business should follow.”
Prescott not only went through this situation with the team in 2024, but also back in 2021 after his rookie deal expired. The first time around, Prescott said it got personal. Tension was present between both sides, just as it exists now with Parsons.
But when the business was finalized and conversations were had, Prescott said it was easy to call it water under the bridge regarding the way ownership handled the situation.
“It had gotten personal,” he said. “And then you get a phone call, your agent calls you. ‘We got the deal done.’ You celebrate and then you get a call right after that from Jerry that says, ‘Come in the office and we’ll sign up tomorrow.’”
“That’s what happens in business. People get emotional and people make it personal at times. But when that deal happens, we can make it go away because the tension wasn’t personal to begin with. Once that business deal happens, you can move forward.”
A report from Yahoo! Sports’ Jori Epstein said that Prescott texted Parsons a message of support moments after Parsons’ trade request went public. While the request might appear as though he could be losing his defensive teammate, Prescott remains confident that a deal can get done.
Because it’s what happened with him twice over.
“I think if I wouldn’t have been in his shoes and watched other guys be in his shoes and be rewarded, maybe [I would be worried],” Prescott said. “I have faith in the Joneses and their team as I do with Micah and his team. That’s who I am and what I will continue to believe. Eleven is a Cowboy.”