Cowboys LB Micah Parsons: Jerry Jones overcomplicating contract

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Micah Parsons knows how it all ends, this contract negotiation with the Dallas Cowboys stretching into a second year. He still wondered aloud why ownership is taking its time as the market jumps to new heights.

“I’m just going to get mine no matter what,” Parsons said at his youth football camp. “You know what I mean? Like, the markets change every year. Their salary cap went up, like, another 18 percent this year. So, if you want to know contracts, all the contracts are based off of percentage. Like, each player, a high-paid player, takes a percentage of the salary cap. So, it’s not really the number. It goes off by the salary cap.”

As the clock ticked Thursday, T.J. Watt and the Steelers were reportedly hammering out the final lines of a three-year contract worth a record $41 million per season.

To Parsons’ point, the Cowboys have been here before.

The waiting game ended with new contracts last summer for CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott pushed to the top of the market at both positions.

Parsons, a two-time All-Pro pick with 12 sacks or more in each of his first four seasons, committed to being a part of the Cowboys’ offseason and summer while waiting for his deal to be finalized. He said a coaching change, from Mike McCarthy to Brian Schottenheimer, and the arrival of new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus factored into his decision to be around the team.

That doesn’t mean he’ll be on the field when the Cowboys start training camp. But Parsons pointed to owner Jerry Jones as the one with the power to determine just how quickly peace is restored.

“We obviously wanted to get done early,” Parsons said on the “Six Feet Under” podcast.

“We want that relief off our backs. But, obviously, ownership is always gonna make it drag out — make it more complicated than it has to be. Lack of communication and that standpoint. But, you know, I just always say, God has me this far, he ain’t done with me yet, so, you know, I just keep working, keep going, and then when it comes, I’m gonna be ready. But, you know, ain’t gonna be no drop off.”

Both sides know the cost of signing Parsons will not decrease, as the Watt deal amplifies. Earlier in the offseason, the Browns gave pass rusher Myles Garrett $40 million per season and more than $123 million guaranteed on a four-year deal in March. The Raiders signed pass rusher Maxx Crosby to a three-year extension worth $35.5 million per season and $91.5 million guaranteed.

Parsons isn’t afraid to point out the cost of the Cowboys delaying the certainty of his contract.

“We wanted to do the contract last year,” Parsons said. “They were just kind of like, ‘We want to do Dak and CeeDee.’ Then you go out there and perform again and, you know, you would think, like, alright, we’ll get it done early. We know there’s some guys that’s about to get ready to get repaid, like Myles (Garrett), you know, Maxx (Crosby) is gone. So you’d think like, hey, let’s get ahead of that, you know what I mean?”

–Field Level Media