Troy Aikman Roasts Jerry Jones For Cowboys' Micah Parsons Trade

Troy Aikman panned the Micah Parsons trade during a recent interview, while implying that there were questionable motivations and rationale behind it.

Aikman, appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show", went after Dallas Cowboys owner and genearl manager Jerry Jones for focusing on making his team a "discussion point." Aikman seemed to imply that Jones sent Parsons to the Green Bay Packers to keep the team relevant instead of making a football decision.  

"I saw Jerry talk about the fact that, having the Cowboys as a discussion point is meaningful to him," Aikman said. "And if people aren’t talking about the Cowboys, then he’ll do things to stir it up. So, he kind of walked into that and has given the impression that supersedes winning," Aikman said. "In some ways, I’m sure Jerry and the Jones family, and everyone is tired of the fact that they haven’t been to a championship game, let alone a Super Bowl in 30 years."

PHILADELPHIA - Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) looks on during the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys on December 29, 2024 at Lincoln Financial Field.(Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Does Troy Aikman Have A Point About Jerry Jones?

Aikman wasn’t done, saying Jones seems to enjoy the "drama" and "attention" of having the Cowboys be a soap opera.

"So, then when you deflect that, then essentially the valuation of your franchise or the attention and the exposure, or the drama or as Jerry said the fact that the Cowboys are a soap opera 365 days a year, that then becomes the scoreboard instead of winning and losing on the field. And, do I think that winning is not important to Jerry Jones? Not at all. I think Jerry wants to win more than anything else and I think he’s very exhausted of the fact that this team, although they’ve won a lot of regular-season games … but yet they’ve only won four playoff games and that’s hard to stomach."

After the trade, reports indicated Parsons has a back issue that could make the move easier to justify. But with Jones and the Cowboys, the motivations are never entirely clear. After years of mediocrity and playoff disappointment, they haven’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt.

Dallas opens the 2025 regular season on Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles—without Micah Parsons and without realistic expectations of reaching its first Super Bowl since 1996.