Micah Parsons has a good chance to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, and those odds increase the longer the Dallas Cowboys wait to get a deal done.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter predicted on June 17 that Parsons will ink such a deal, which means at least $40 million annually — the total that the Cleveland Browns paid defensive end Myles Garret earlier this offseason.
“Micah Parsons I expect to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history,” Schefter said. “[Trey] Hendrickson, [T.J] Watt: I think they’ll be in the [Maxx] Crosby, [Myles] Garrett range — somewhere in there.
“If you go back and look at some of the numbers, [Parsons’] numbers are outstanding,” Schefter continued. “And he’s younger than all of them.”
Parsons is eligible to sign an extension now, heading into his fifth NFL season on a team option worth $24 million.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported in May that the holdup between Parsons and the Cowboys is the length of the deal, per Bleacher Report. Parsons is only 26 and can certainly command a four-year extension. However, given Rapoport’s reporting, it’s clear the outside linebacker wants five years, which would add a considerable amount of guaranteed money.
Spotrac’s most recent projection for Parsons is $145-plus million on a four-year deal, which puts his annual average salary in the range of $36.3 million. The Cowboys are more likely to win the battle of years if they pony up and pay Parsons now, which would lock him up through 2029. Dallas also has a better chance of keeping Parsons’ annual salary below the historic $40 million mark by giving him the longterm security he seeks right away.
But Jerry Jones has been stubborn about handing out big contracts, a point of criticism directed at the Cowboys owner from NFL analysts like Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk — particularly in the case of quarterback Dak Prescott.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report predicted on Sunday, July 13, that Jones will make the same costly error with Parsons that he did with Prescott, waiting too long to sign a longterm agreement. Based on Davenport’s projection against that of Spotrac, Jones will cost the franchise more than $56 million in total by ultimately paying Parsons $201.5 million on a five-year contract.
“That missed time [due to injury] last year may well be the only reason Parsons hasn’t already been re-upped. Well, that and figuring out how to maneuver his looming mega-deal under the Cowboys’ cap,” Davenport wrote. “But make no mistake — Parsons is going to get paid. And when he does, he will probably become the first $200 million defender the NFL has ever seen.”
