Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith has joined the conversation concerning Micah Parsons and his holdout.

Back when the Cowboys were making their historic Super Bowl run, Smith held out before the beginning of training camp and missed the first couple of games of the 1993 season before rejoining the team and winning another Super Bowl.

As the Micah Parsons holdout continues, Smith says this is not even close to what he went through with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“Not even close,” Smith told Cowboys beat writer and insider Clarence Hill Jr.  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. “

Smith continued, “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.” 

Parsons wants a new deal and has told the team he’d like to be traded, but so far, Jones has said that’s not going to happen. The likely scenario is that Jones pays Parsons what he is seeking, or Parsons plays this year and becomes a free agent at the end of this season.

Although Smith and Jones eventually resolved their issues, some believe that it might be too late for Parsons. 

Smith says that he hopes it’s not too late. ‘I just hope Parsons gets his deal done,” he said. “All the other distractions need to be gone so you can focus on what you need to focus on.”