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Cowboys' Micah Parsons Offers Updated Contract Thought

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 7:36 AM ET

Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons made headlines in December when he stated that he didn't need to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in football as he searches for a new contract.

For most, that meant Parsons was fully invested in working out a team-friendly deal so that the Cowboys could move forward and bring in other players to strengthen the roster.

But now, as negotiations continue, Parsons' thoughts on not being the highest-paid might be shifting, and based on his comments at the Annual Cowboys' Reliant HR Derby, it feels to us that agent David Mulugheta might have gotten in Micah's ear.

"For me, it's all about, before Myles [Garrett] and Ja'Marr [Chase], it's challenging because you don't need to be there [highest-paid], right?" Parsons said via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "The market is set at 35 [million], and it backfires because you look at the market and Maxx [Crosby] goes and gets 35, and you see guys that are older than you, and you can say that your production and versatility matches what they're doing.

"I would say I'm more in my prime than a lot of these other guys. That's the challenging part, I don't really think it's about the dollar [amount], it's all about how much someone thinks you're worth."

No one can deny that Parsons deserves to be paid like one of the best in football, given his production over the past four years, which has seen him rack up 12+ sacks in every season.

While the Cowboys might have thought they could get Micah at a "discounted" price, it feels like now they will be having to stump up the cash to get No. 11 signed, sealed and delivered.

CowboysCountry.com has reported that the idea of five years and $200 million has been discussed between Jerry Jones and Parsons.

The good thing is that Parsons is still showing up to the facility as part of the offseason program, regardless of his contract status, and yes, we know he isn't doing too much, but the fact that he's there shows he's invested.

And when you want a new contract that will pay you generational wealth, that's a good place to start.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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