Peter Schrager joined ESPN this week after spending the better part of a decade on NFL Network's Good Morning Football. On Wednesday morning Schrager made his debut on both Get Up and First Take and his first segments on both shows were about the Micah Parsons contract situation in Dallas.
On both appearances Schrager emphasized that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones does things just a little bit differently from everyone else in the league. He enjoys the business of the game and wants negotiations to have a personal touch and knowing the names of agents isn't a part of that.
"His name is David Mulugheta. He is a great agent," said Schrager. "Jerry don't care about that. Jerry wants it to be a family business and he wants to look the guy in the eye and Jerry wants to be the one who is going to make a deal. This is very close and personal to Jerry Jones. This is going to be the second-biggest contract Jerry Jones ever signs, of course, to Dak Prescott which he did last year. And I believe Jerry Jones wants to deal with Micah and the second you start talking about agents, it's like, nah nah nah, what do you want him to say? I really respect the guy and he's at Athletes First. That's not coming out of Jerry Jones's voice. That's not what he's doing. He wants it to be on his terms. And I'll tell you guys this, I think Jerry enjoys the art of the deal more than the football sometimes. He loves the business of the game and it's very close and it's very personal to him."
A short time later Schrager appeared alongside Molly Qerim, Mike "Mad Dog" Russo and Stephen Smith for the first time.
"[Jerry Jones] is someone who is different than the 31 other decision-makers in the NFL." 👀 @PSchrags and @stephenasmith on Jerry Jones' comments about Micah Parsons' contract negotiations 😳 pic.twitter.com/vJx9o3MTTL
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 2, 2025
“Jerry is a wildcatter. He is an oil man," Schrager explaiend. "He is someone who is different than the 31 other decision-makers in the NFL. He wants to look at the individual in the eye and he wants to deal with that person directly. It’s a family business to him. And whereas everyone else is worried about salary cap and well, what does this mean… Jerry Jones looks at it as his money, his relationships, and this is something that he wants to do on his timeline and with the individuals he’s dealing with.”
Watching Stephen A. Smith react to Schrager's endless optimism both about teams and individuals should be a fun thing to watch as his time at ESPN goes on. Needless to say, Smith is not as impressed with Jerry Jones's approach to his family business.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Peter Schrager Explains What Makes Jerry Jones Tick in Multiple ESPN Debuts.
