Emmitt Smith has always taken exception to how the media has chronicled his infamous contract dispute with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones back in 1993. The NFL's all-time leading rusher again went on the defensive when he was asked if his contract situation was similar to what current Cowboys star Micah Parsons is currently going through.
"Not even close," Smith told Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill Jr. on Monday. "Not even close. ... The media should have never called me a holdout because I didn't have a contract. ... My contract ended. I didn't have no more obligations to the Dallas Cowboys. I was out there in the wind as a free agent for 30 days until those 30 days closed. Then I only could talk to one team.
"I lost leverage, and that's where Micah Parsons is at right now, is not having enough leverage. But he also has another year on his contract, so there's a distinct difference between a holdout and being a free agent. .... The NFL did a good job of branding that moniker on me with the public. So everybody brings it up in that context, but I'm here to set this record straight."
Smith, fresh off of a banner 1992 season that saw him become the first player to win a rushing title and a Super Bowl in the same season, was hoping to receive a contract during the 1993 offseason that would be on par with the league's highest-paid quarterbacks.
As a restricted free agent, Smith had a window where he could talk to other teams, but the Cowboys had the ability to match any offer or receive draft compensation. Other teams, surely knowing that the Cowboys weren't going to let Smith leave Dallas, didn't make Smith a legitimate offer.
With Smith still unsigned, the Cowboys started 0-2 before the two sides agreed to a deal that, at the time, made Smith the NFL's highest-paid running back. With his long-awaited contract in hand, Smith went out and won league and Super Bowl MVP honors as the Cowboys successfully defended their title.
As Smith alluded to, leverage is the main similarity between his situation back then and Parsons' current predicament. Like Smith 32 years earlier, Parsons has to deal directly with Jones regarding his new contract. Parsons is in this situation because he still under contract after the Cowboys picked up his fifth-year option last spring.
Similarities aside, Smith isn't a fan of what is going on between the Cowboys and Parsons, whose ongoing hold-in includes a recent trade request. Smith is clearly hoping that Parsons' story can have an similar ending to his.
'I just hope Parsons gets his deal done," Smith said. "For me, it's more important to have all this business stuff behind you so the team can start to do the things that they came here to do. They came to training camp to come together as a team, forging a brotherhood, building the chemistry that they need to build.
"All the other distractions need to be gone so you can focus on what you need to focus on."