Tom Brady Tells Jerry Jones How Robert Kraft Handled Patriots Contracts Without Distractions

Instead of locking down one of the league’s elite defenders early, the Cowboys ended up losing Micah Parsons when they were a week away from playing the Eagles. For Jerry Jones, trading Micah Parsons to the Packers was a calculated move to address Dallas’ glaring weakness against the run. After all, the Cowboys’ defense ranked among the league’s worst in that category, surrendering 2,331 yards on 482 attempts last season. Yet, the trade wasn’t just about numbers. Jones reportedly felt betrayed after Parsons went public with his trade request.

Per Bill Barnwell of ESPN, this trade saga ended up becoming a clash of ‘some very large egos.’ At the end, Jerry Jones played the most Jerry Jones move by trading one of the best defenders in the NFL in August. But NFL legend Tom Brady believes that while such headline-grabbing decisions might keep the Cowboys relevant, they won’t translate into the kind of on-field dominance the Patriots enjoyed. In a revealing conversation with Cris Collinsworth on Pro Football Focus, Brady shed light on how Robert Kraft’s management style with the Patriots differed sharply from Jerry Jones’ approach with the Cowboys, especially in an era defined by big contracts and star players.

As Brady explained to Collinsworth, “At the Patriots, things were done very differently than the way the Cowboys did it. And we had a lot of on-field success, and it created, I think, an enterprise value for Mr. Kraft over time, but we did everything we could to minimize distractions. We didn’t talk about contracts. … didn’t have many people hold out and make big deals of it. We just tried to focus on what we had to take care of in our business.” Simply put, Kraft created an environment where players could focus purely on football while the front office and coaching staff handled the complexities.

Jerry Jones, holding dual roles as owner and GM, operates under a different philosophy. Tom Brady acknowledged the Cowboys’ passionate crowds but also noted the challenges of juggling highly paid stars in long-term deals. The Cowboys have a lot of money locked up in stars like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens. While they make big contract money, the pressure is equally high on them to deliver. “There’s less flexibility… those guys have to go perform to the value of their contract if they want to continue to have the kind of season like they did a few years ago. But last year was a big disappointment for the organization. And you know, there’s different ways to do business. And I think Jerry again has his own way.” 

The Micah Parsons trade illustrates this dynamic. Jones moved a defensive cornerstone and got two first-round picks (2026, 2027) from the Packers. These picks can now either be big trade chips or a way to ensure prime talent entering Dallas for the foreseeable future. The other way to look at it is that Jones aims to preserve roster flexibility for a promising quarterback class next year. But at the cost of immediate stability. Brady’s commentary highlights the tension between maintaining competitive depth and managing big-money contracts. It’s a challenge that tests any owner’s acumen, not just the highest-valued franchise in the NFL. But it’s also something Robert Kraft excelled at.

As Brady puts it, after each season’s winner is declared, all the other franchises question themselves. “So, you have 31 organizations that are trying to figure out, ‘do we have good enough players or are we not coaching them well enough?’ And that’s where I think an owner can play a great role, that he’s got to arbitrate it and make it functional. And Mr. Kraft did a great job of that for a long period of time.”

As a sharp contrast, Jerry Jones’ marketing moves keep Dallas in the headlines, but continue to fuel tensions in the locker room. Beyond Micah Parsons, think back to CeeDee Lamb’s holdout, and even further back to the legendary Emmitt Smith’s holdout. The constant has remained the same. Jerry Jones, waiting until it’s almost too late to bring out the checkbook and ease the tensions.

For now, Jones and the Cowboys are placing their hopes on defensive tackle Kenny Clark. But whether Clark can truly fill the void left by Parsons—or if this turns into yet another costly gamble in Jerry Jones’ playbook—remains the looming question hanging over Dallas’ season.