Micah Parsons isn’t sweating his future with the Dallas Cowboys.
The star edge rusher seems confident that he and the Cowboys will come to terms on an extension agreement, sharing that Jerry Jones has “a plan” for him in a recent interview with Cowboys.com.
“Oh, it’s good, you know? It was good,” Parsons said of his most recent talks with Jones and the team. “I really have a lot of respect for Jerry. We have great conversations all the time. There’s definitely a plan in place, but we’ll just see how everything plays out. There’s been no progress yet, but I’m pretty confident that something will happen, so we’ll see.”
Parsons was among the Cowboys’ three top stars who were eligible and seeking a contract extension last offseason. However, Parsons didn’t force the issue and practiced throughout training camp, pushing aside contract talks until after the 2024 offseason. CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, meanwhile, agreed to long-term extensions in the weeks (or in Prescott’s case, hours) leading up to the season.
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In December, Parsons shared that he was hoping to get an extension done with the Cowboys much sooner than when Lamb and Prescott last offseason.
“I’m going to try and work with them as much as possible to help them attack free agency,” Parsons told reporters in December. “I want to be back with this team. This offseason, I want to be here. I want to get these guys right. I want to take big steps, so hopefully, it can be done sooner than later so we can attack the offseason.”
The Cowboys’ approach to slow-playing extensions with their top players has been widely criticized as they had to pay Prescott and Lamb record-setting money as a result. Parsons would certainly have a case to join his teammates to make record-setting money as well. The 25-year-old has recorded at least 12 sacks in each of the first four seasons of his career, recording that number in 2024 despite playing in just 13 games. He’s also been in the top five in pressures in each of the last three seasons, leading the league once, per Pro Football Focus. He added 43 total tackles and two forced fumbles last season.
As the San Francisco 49ers made Nick Bosa the highest-paid player in the NFL with a five-year, $170 million deal in September 2023, there’s been some speculation that Parsons could eclipse that and become the first defensive player to earn $40 million per year. Parsons, though, is OK with not making that much money.
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“It would be nice to be surrounded by good players,’ Parsons told reporters in December. “Players that will help me win championships, I’ll say that. To me, having $40 million and being chipped every play and slid into three, four people, that doesn’t sound too fun to me. So, to me, it’s about keeping people that can make a difference and obviously we’re going to get Sam [Williams] back, some players back. We’ll see how it breaks down, but I want to keep as many guys as possible. They will make the cap work, I don’t know.”
However, Parsons still wants a payday that will allow him to live comfortably.
“I need to be somewhere where I can have a lake house,” Parsons said. “It could be anywhere, it could be a lake house in Lake Tahoe, you don’t know.”
Entering the offseason, the Cowboys are projected to be roughly $4 million north of the salary cap, per OverTheCap.com. If Parsons is able to agree to an extension, his $24.07 million cap number for the 2025 season could lessen, which would help the Cowboys open up some cap room and make requisite changes to their roster after going 7-10 in 2024.
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