On Thursday morning, a podcast appearance by Micah Parsons, with The Undertaker of all people, made the rounds and in it Parsons said that he was ready for his contract extension situation with the Dallas Cowboys to be over. Aren’t we all?

Paraphrasing a bit, Parsons noted that he wanted to get the deal done last year and that he didn’t understand why the Cowboys were waiting because other deals could happen that would impact the math at play. Jerry Jones infamously referred to this idea before last year’s NFL Draft as leaves falling.

Timber. A whole tree has come down.

ESPN sources: Steelers star TJ Watt has become the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history for the second time in his illustrious career, reaching agreement today on a three-year, $123 million extension that includes $108M fully guaranteed at signing. The $41 million per year average… pic.twitter.com/si6V7FUdlp

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025
The Pittsburgh Steelers just gave T.J. Watt a deal that will serve as a bar for the Cowboys to clear. The important details are that Watt (who the Cowboys very infamously drafted Taco Charlton over, by the way) is making $41M per year and received $108M fully guaranteed.

If the Cowboys had shown some proactivity this or last offseason, then they could have in all likelihood come in at numbers below these. At this point, Parsons and his representation will obviously use this deal to their advantage.