As the Dallas Cowboys hold less than a 1% chance of making the postseason in 2024, much of the attention surrounding the franchise will turn toward the upcoming offseason. The biggest story of the Cowboys offseason is expected to be the looming contract extension for star linebacker Micah Parsons.
Parsons is finishing up the fourth year of his NFL career, and the Cowboys have picked up his fifth-year option for the 2025 season. Since the Cowboys drafted him with the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Parsons has quickly emerged as one of the best defensive players in the entire league. He has piled up double digit sacks in his first three seasons, is a Pro Bowler every year and has been named either first or second-team All-Pro in each season of his career.
Parsons’s already lengthy résumé could earn him a record contract for a defensive player, but he clarified that he doesn’t need to be the highest paid defensive player in the league when the Cowboys sign him. He wants talented players around him and to compete for Super Bowl trophies.
“It would be nice to be surrounded by good players,” Parsons said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Players are going to help you win championships. I want to keep as many guys as possible. … I want to work with them as much as possible.”
“I don’t need $40 million per year. I need to be somewhere where I can have a lake house.”
The Cowboys still could make Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history without paying him $40 million per year. Currently, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa is the highest-paid defender, taking in an average of $34 million per year. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen are the only two other defenders making at least $30 million per year. Even if Parsons’s contract does not surpass Bosa’s, he could still easily become one of the top-five highest paid defensive players in the NFL.
As for the timeline of his contract, Parsons would like the deal by the start of training camp. Even if the extension is not completed by then, he does not think he would hold out of training camp. He especially wants to be present for training camp if defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer does not return for next season, in which case the team will likely install a new defensive system.
“I think I’ll still be around,” Parsons said, via Machota. “I don’t know what the coaching is going to be like. At some point, if I got to learn a new scheme. I would love to have Zimmer back. … He has done a tremendous job. I would love to have him back. But if they do change or he just feels like he’s ready to go with the horses, I got to learn a new scheme. … There’s a chemistry part. … I still gotta be there for that part.”
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