ESPN told Dan Patrick ‘he would never get another job’ during ugly contract talks

The contract drama between Micah Parsons and the Cowboys had sports broadcaster Dan Patrick reminiscing about a “bad deal” he previously signed with ESPN.

During Tuesday’s installment of “The Dan Patrick Show,” the host reacted to the ongoing negotiations between Dallas and the All-Pro pass rusher— and how team owner Jerry Jones called out his star player in a Monday press conference for missing time due an ankle injury last year.

Patrick, who worked for ESPN from 1989-2007, claimed that when he was in negotiations on a new deal, the Worldwide Leader told his agent he was “over the hill.”

“Micah Parsons is one of the top-10 players in the NFL as far as impact on the game,” Patrick said Tuesday. “Now you can say, ‘Hey, he gets injured.’ That’s what you say to the agent. ‘Hey, we’re starting to get nicked up a little bit here, that’s a concern I have…’ That’s what a negotiation is.

“I went through negotiations before. Now, I made them public because I thought they were humorous after the fact, when I had Mark Shapiro, who was my boss for years at ESPN, told my agent that I’m ‘over the hill’ and I’ll ‘never get another job.’”

Although Patrick could relate to the situation in Dallas, he said ESPN spared him from going public with their critiques, unlike Jones.

“And I thought, ‘Wow.’ And of course I re-signed a bad deal at ESPN, but that’s on me,” Patrick said. “Because I’m like, ‘Maybe he’s right? Maybe I’m old and I’ll never get another job.’ He said it to my agent at least. He didn’t say it publicly.’”

Patrick added that his wife asked why ESPN and Shapiro would even bother offering him another contract if they truly believed the then “SportsCenter” anchor was “over the hill.”

During an appearance on the Barstool podcast, “Pardon May Take” earlier this month, Patrick said it was “frightening” to leave ESPN and claimed there was a “smear campaign” against him.

Parsons, who’s entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, has made it clear he wants an extension and that he wants to remain in Dallas.

The veteran linebacker, who reported to training camp in California, said his agent, David Mulugheta, has reached out to the Cowboys and is still waiting to hear back.

During Monday’s introductory press conference at Cowboys training camp in California, Jones harped on Parsons being injured last season.

“Just because we sign him, doesn’t mean we’re going to have him. He was hurt six games last year, seriously,” Jones said, though Parsons actually missed four games.

“I remember signing a player for the highest paid at the position in the league and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year, Dak Prescott, so there’s a lot of things you can think about, just as the player does when you’re thinking about committing and guaranteeing money.”

Parsons appeared in 13 games last season and finished with 12 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He also made the Pro Bowl for the fourth year in a row.

“Contracts are four, five years, okay?” Jones continued. “There’s a lot of water under the bridge if you step out there and do something in the first two or three. You can get hit by a car. Seriously.”