Mike Browning

Tag: Micah Parsons

  • Watch Their Hands, Not Their Lips

    Watch Their Hands, Not Their Lips

    When speaking publicly, people will usually tell you what (they think) you want to hear

    When someone publicly says it’s not about the money, what’s the safest bet?

    It’s about the money.

    That’s not cynicism, that’s just pattern recognition. Public statements are usually crafted for effect. They’re meant to play well with fans, reporters, or shareholders.

    Which means they’re often more about signaling virtue than revealing truth.

    Take the recent Micah Parsons contract saga. More than once, he said it wasn’t really about getting the most money. He tried to keep the focus on fairness, team, legacy. All fine words.

    But the outcome? He landed the highest average salary in NFL history for a non-quarterback.

    Record deal. Short enough term that, if he stays healthy, he could cash another monster contract in a few years.

    So yes, it was at least a little about the money.

    And good for him—he’s got a limited window to earn, and he’s maximizing it. That’s smart.

    The same thing shows up outside of sports.

    The Dallas Morning News insists it’s in the journalism business. On the surface, sure. But scratch it and you see a company really in the advertising and engagement business.

    And lately? It’s been in the business of selling itself.

    Shares were trading in the $4s. Hearst swooped in with a $16.50 offer—quadruple the price. Then another buyer stepped up with $20. Even better, right? Except the board recommended sticking with Hearst’s lower number.

    Don’t know why, could be good business reasons for that, I don’t have time to look.

    Cue the noble public statement from Robert Decherd:

    “I have long since ceased to view my holdings…as a financial asset. My sole objective is sustaining the journalistic quality and civic responsibility of the News.”

    Sounds lofty. But it also raises the obvious question: if it’s not about the money, why sell at all?

    Because it’s not really about journalism.

    That doesn’t make them villains. It just means you have to be clear-eyed about what game people are actually playing.

    I’ve said before, I’m not really in the brokerage business. I’m in the trust business. The difference is, I know what business I’m in. And maybe it’s self serving to play that up, but I think it’s important to know.

    Is it crazy to align with people who know who they are and where they are going?

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
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  • Why Radio Hosts Are on the Radio

    Why Radio Hosts Are on the Radio

    For their sake, I hope they don’t negotiate their own contracts

    This isn’t a sports blog, but I talk about negotiation a lot — and this is all over local media right now. It’s worth looking at:

    The Micah Parsons Extension
    (aka “look what an idiot Dumb Ol’ Jerry is for not doing it sooner”)

    Lately I’ve been hearing a popular take on local radio: If the Cowboys had moved in February, they could’ve signed Parsons for $37M/year. Now it’s going to cost $43–45M.

    If true, then the team probably cost themselves $25M+ over the life of the deal. Not to mention valuable cap space, which is a fan’s real concern.

    I would bet if that deal could have happened, the team would have been all over it.

    The problem?

    It would make zero sense for Parsons to sign any deal in February, much less one based on the market at that time. It’s such a no-brainer that it doesn’t even make sense for the team to make the offer.

    Before I go on:

    • I’m not defending Jerry. I’ve been watching this team since Super Bowl XII, and I have adult kids who weren’t alive the last time they made a conference championship. Lord knows plenty of mistakes have been made.
    • I’m also not talking about whether it would’ve made sense to extend Parsons before last season or even earlier. That’s a different conversation. With hindsight, yeah, maybe they should have tried. Philly does that well. Dallas has done it before, too — Diggs, Steele, Zeke, none of which are pointed to as smart moves now. We just extended Ferguson, hopefully it works out better. Parsons may have been a better bet than those guys, but again, not the point here.

    The media logic goes like this:

    • Parsons will be the top-paid non-QB in the league (or close).
    • $37M/year would’ve been in that ballpark in February.
    • Ergo, Jerry should’ve signed him then.

    Here’s the problem: It takes two sides to make a deal.

    Everyone knows salaries go up. Parsons knows it. His agent knows it. Even Jerry knows it.

    So why on earth would Parsons sign at $37M in February?

    If his agent let him do that, he’d deserve to be run out of the business for malpractice. Micah seems like an uncommonly intelligent guy, he’d have probably fired his agent if he so much as suggested the idea.

    Here’s the facts:

    1. Parsons has more leverage than any non-QB right now.
    2. When he signs, it’ll be at or near the top of the market.
    3. Those numbers only move one direction.
    4. There’s almost no injury risk between February and August, so there’s no reason to rush.

    If you’re Parsons, why sign early? You wait. Every new deal bumps your number higher.

    The reason this deal isn’t done isn’t because Jerry doesn’t want it or doesn’t understand basic math.
    It’s because waiting is in Parsons’ best interest.

    That’s how leverage works. This is his big shot to set the market, and he’s maximizing it.

    As he should. Is he saying the right thing publicly about wishing it had been done long ago? Yes, but that doesn’t change the smart way to play it.

    What’s this got to do with real estate?

    Not much — unless you’re Micah’s agent, in which case you’re probably rubbing your hands.

    But when you sell your land or property, you want someone who can think through the why behind negotiations, not just default to “they’re dumb because they didn’t do what sounds good for the other side.”

    And you know where to find that.

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

    Just a glutton for punishment?
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