Cowboys' Dak Prescott Reportedly Shut Down Jerry Jones' Contract Talks Without Agent

While his negotiations with star pass-rusher Micah Parsons are in the headlines this offseason, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly previously attempted to negotiate a deal with Dak Prescott without the quarterback's agent present.

And Prescott reportedly wasn't having anything to do with it.

According to Michael Silver of The Athletic, Jones attempted to negotiate directly with Prescott last offseason. However, the quarterback "quickly shut him down and told him to talk to his agent, Todd France."

The end result was a four-year, $240 million deal that was announced shortly before last season's opener.

It is a notable tidbit considering Parsons mentioned in his trade request that he discussed a contract with Jones even though "at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation, and I informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out."

Parsons said the team went "silent" when his agent reached out:

The situation is hovering over Cowboys camp, and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Thursday on Get Up (h/t Brad Crawford of CBS Sports) that it has led to frustration.

"Players are clearly frustrated," he said. "Players are like, 'We're trying to win a Super Bowl man … why are we marketing (this)?' This is a slam dunk—age, injury, production. There's no blemishes there. This is an easy decision. I think that's where players are grappling with this. This guy, you can argue is the very best at his position right now, outside of maybe Myles Garrett. 

"It's a distraction. They're going in on this two years in a row with CeeDee Lamb and Dak (Prescott) last year, now Micah Parsons."

Few people would know what Parsons is going through better than Prescott, and Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports reported the quarterback reached out to the pass-rusher with a message that said "f--k man" with an understanding of what that meant.

"He knows what that means," Prescott said. "It wasn't f--k you, Micah, or f--k them. It's more of a f--k this is frustrating for everybody involved."

The Cowboys will be a much different team if Parsons is not on the field when they start their season on Sept. 4 against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. Worried Cowboys fans can at least take solace knowing the Prescott situation was resolved before regular-season games, but both sides are running out of time.