Parsons believes it’s critical to have a new place before training camp
FRISCO, Texas — Owner and general manager Jerry Jones wants and assumes he will get a long-term extension done with All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. Jones said as much Tuesday at Dallas’ pre-draft press conference.
Parsons himself affirmed a similar desire Tuesday night at the Cowboys’ 12th Annual Reliant Home Run Derby, an event he participated in that helped the Cowboys raise $76,600 for the Salvation Army. “I always wanted to be a Cowboy,” he said.
So, what’s the hold up? Parsons’ average per year salary and the gap that exists between the Cowboys front office and he and his agent.
“If we could sign Micah to a number we wanted to sign him to, we’d do it right now,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said Tuesday. “But right now, there’s a difference in what we feel is the right number, and what he feels like is the right number.”
Parsons, in an informal chat at his locker in the middle of the 2024 season, felt like he would be good with $35 million to $36 million in average per year salary. However, that naturally changed when he saw players whom he either has outproduced or is younger than hit salaries on their new deals eclipsing those figures.
Jerry and Stephen Jones admitted they prefer to wait to get a deal done until the last possible second to have all the information, but that has backfired in the case of Parsons. The 25-year-old’s market has increased exponentially. Just this offseason, Raiders Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension (27-years-old, $35.6 million average per year), Texans Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter signed a one-year, $35.6 million extension (30) and Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million extension (29, $40 million).
“It’s challenging because you don’t need to be there [at a $40 million average per year salary] right? If this market is set at $35 [million], then it kind of backfires because you see Maxx [Crosby] goes to $35.5, $36 [million]. Then you see guys that are older than you, and you can say your production and versatility matches what they’re doing, and you say ‘Why?’ … I would say I’m more in my prime than a lot of these other guys who are more in the second half of their career,” Parsons said. “That’s the challenging part man, just getting fully [honest] about ‘What’s your worth?’ I don’t really think it’s about the dollar. I think it’s all about how much someone thinks you’re worth.”
The longer the wait to get a deal done, the higher the likelihood of Parsons holding in training camp when the pads come on and actual contact practices begin. He’s made it a priority to be in the building for the offseason program to be a leader for new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, but he won’t risk his health without a new deal. A holdout could jeopardize the start of the Schottenheimer era. All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott weren’t on the same page early last season on the offensive side of the ball after Lamb held out of camp before receiving his four-year, $136 million extension at the end of the offseason.
“It’s extremely important,” Parsons said of getting his deal done before training camp to avoid a holdout. “You really see a lot of players struggle, guys aren’t participating in camp and get off to slow starts,” Parsons said Tuesday night. “I don’t want to get off to no slow starts. I want to hit the ground running and establish ourselves in this league and get some wins early in the season and be in rhythm. It’s going to be extremely important to get going and lead these guys.”
Parsons and Jerry Jones haven’t spoken since their Jan. 10 meeting, but Parsons did say he’s “pretty sure” he and Jerry will talk again soon. He and his agent, David Mulugheta, haven’t talked about his deal in tandem with the Cowboys just days away from the 2025 NFL Draft. Jones claimed to not know Mulugheta’s name, which many interpreted as a disrespectful shot. Parsons isn’t one of those people.
“Obviously, I know Jerry always comes from a good place, and I think overall Jerry is one of the better people I know and also my agent is one of the better people I know,” Parsons said. “It’s like when your brother and sister are arguing, you don’t really step in and choose sides. You just kind of say, ‘Hey, they’re coming from this perspective. You’re coming from this perspective. Just find a way to meet in the middle, no hard feelings at all.”
The key takeaway for Parsons from watching Prescott and Lamb go through this process with the Jones family last year is simple: just control what you can control.
“Yeah man, just stand out the way,” Parsons said. “For me, I just keep working out, keep grinding, keep pushing forward, doing what I’m doing and sit patiently. So that way, I’m ready to play football come [training camp] in July.”
Parsons’ leadership efforts
Lamb skipped the entire offseason program without a new deal last offseason, but that isn’t Parsons’ posture this year. That’s despite previously calling training on his own instead of participating in the voluntary portion of the offseason program his “style.” Now, Parsons is coming to at least walkthrough Eberflus’ playbook.
“I’ve still got to learn the playbook, and I’m not so much much of an iPad person where I can just keep learning,” Parsons said when asked if he will continue to be at the offseason program even without a contract. “Like, I’ve got to walkthrough it. Maybe so much I might not be on the field part of it, but I’ll be there learning where at least I’m getting prepared to be ready Week 1.”
Schottenheimer has also impressed upon Parsons the importance of leading year-round for the Cowboys, which is another reason for Parsons’ participation. It helps that the new head coach attended Parsons’ “Pins for a Purpose” philanthropy event in March.
“Just talking to Schotty and [him] telling me the importance how it is to come and be there and what he’s trying to prove and show to the team, I just thought it was important, one, for me and my relationship with our new head coach to understand where he’s coming from and help him in any way I can to you know go on this run,” Parsons said. … “Schotty’s been around and trying to build relationships. So I feel like we’re at the point if he asks for me to come in for a couple days for its importance for the leadership aspect and be around the guys and show face, that’s something I wanted to do for my coach or anybody. … I always said I wanted to be a Cowboy and be here, so I fell like it’s just really been me. I’ve been as real as possible since I’ve been here.”
“It’s awesome,” Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said of Parsons being present in the offseason program. “Just having him here and showing face being able to show his presence in the building and talk to the guys and stuff like that. Then, still being able to get work in and invite guys to work out with him outside the building as well. I just feel like spending that time inside and outside of the building together is just something that we need. It’s just going to help us moving forward, build that connection.”
Parsons’ leadership efforts have also spilled over on to social media, where he defended the Cowboys and his teammates after former teammate and new Seattle Seahawks edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence critiqued Dallas’ ability to contend for a Super Bowl.
“Man for me, it’s all about setting a tone about what the locker room, man. We aren’t going to put up with nothing. We aren’t going to tolerate the dumb stuff that was going on,” Parsons said when asked why he clapped back at Lawrence. “Like I said, it’s a new regime.
New culture. I’m not saying that you know other guys weren’t culture builders, but you know some things are just tired. Obviously something ain’t working, it’s good that you got new guys to fix it.
“I’m just grateful that me, CeeDee and Dak, you know Dak kind of been through two generations, but you know just a new regime. You know guys are going to get closer. We’re going to relate. … Now, we’ve all came in together, established this relationship. We’re all around the same age. We all hang out way more, so like you saw us working out together. That’s not something that I’ve been a part of here in the past unless you went to OTAs. So things like that. Meeting up, working out together, boxing together. Things like that, we’re going to start building a camaraderie.”
