Dallas Cowboys diehards have grown increasingly impatient with team owner Jerry Jones, including superfan Denzel Washington.
Washington, 70, appeared on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday, August 12, where he laid into Jones, 82, over the ongoing contract dispute with Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons.
“He’s making it hard,” Washington said of Jones. “Not to be a fan, because I’m still a Cowboys fan. I’m still going to have the star on the side of the hat. But he ain’t thinking about us. He’s thinking about his pocket.”
Jones and Parsons, 26, are currently in the midst of a standoff, with the four-time Pro Bowler still not practicing with the Cowboys as the two parties attempt to negotiate a contract extension.
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“There’s box office and there’s Oscars, Jerry,” Washington continued. “Been a while, huh? Ain’t been to the show. You wouldn’t know. Hadn’t been to the show so you wouldn’t know what it is to win.”
The Academy Award winner was making reference to the Cowboys’ lack of success over the past three decades, with the franchise failing to make a conference championship game since 1995.
Washington added, “I love the Cowboys. I really love them. This is why I feel the way I feel.”
The actor was joined on First Take by director Spike Lee, who directed Washington in the movie Highest 2 Lowest, out on Friday, August 15.
When host Stephen A. Smith attempted to steer the conversation to the movie, Washington still couldn’t help but vent his frustrations about the Cowboys.
“What does it say down at the bottom of the movie [poster]?” Washington asked into the camera. “What does it say on the one sheet? ‘All money ain’t good money,’ Jerry!”
Lee, 68, decked out in New York Knicks gear, urged him on.
“Say it again,” Lee said.
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Washington boasted, “All money ain’t good money, Jerry!”
As for why Washington — who grew up in New York — is a Cowboys fan, he explained it all dates back to his own youth football days.
“I grew up in Mount Vernon, uptown,” he said. “The Red Raiders. We were the Red Raiders in the ‘60s. I was the running back and we used the shift. Like the Cowboys. So I said, ‘Oh, the Cowboys play like us.’ I’ve been a Cowboys fan since the ‘60s.”
The Cowboys open the 2025 regular season on September 4 against the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, without a contract extension for Parsons in sight.
