Since being picked 12th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft, Micah Parsons has set the league on fire, notching 40.5 sacks — the fifth-most in NFL history among players in their first three NFL seasons — and finishing in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting three years in a row. It's not at all an exaggeration to say that Parsons may be the best and most valuable non-quarterback in the league, yet for the time being, he's not being paid as such.
For the 2024 season, Micah Parsons will be making just a sliver under $3 million. Because Dallas picked up his fifth year option, he'll be paid $21.3 million during the 2025 season, which is a step in the right direction, but still far less than a player of Parsons' caliber deserves to be making. For that reason, NFL insider Mike Florio has offered Parsons some advice so that sooner rather than later he can be properly compensated as one of the NFL's most impactful players.
“Cowboys defensive jack-of-all-trades Micah Parsons is willing to wait for his next contract. It’s not a bad strategy. With one big caveat,” Florio writes for Pro Football Talk. “This isn’t about waiting your turn. This is about getting what’s yours. Parsons deserves the generational payday his talents and accomplishments have earned.”
From here, Mike Florio suggests that Micah Parsons “pull an Ezekiel Elliott and not show up for training camp until he gets what he deserves.” And what Parsons deserves is a contract in line with what Justin Jefferson will be paid on his contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings.
This isn't an out of the box suggestion for Florio to make. If Micah Parsons were to hold out from training camp, he'd be just one of a handful of marquee players who do so this offseason in hopes of signing a lucrative, long-term extension before the season is under way. Not every one of those players will command a contract the size of Parsons' eventual deal, but along the way, someone will, and that could be why Parsons is willing to wait his turn.
Micah Parsons' mindset on upcoming Cowboys payday
Micah Parsons is keenly aware of the Dallas Cowboys cap situation, and of his own earning potential, and for that reason, he's comfortable remaining patient as he waits for his first big NFL payday.
“It’s not like I see the Cowboys with $90 million in cap space,” Parsons said early last week, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). “This market is going to just jump up, and the cap goes up again next year. They’re talking about these contracts might for a high-caliber player might be up to $40 million by then.”
Micah Parsons is one of those high-caliber players who may soon be getting a deal worth $40 million annually, but the Cowboys aren't in the position to do that just yet. But once the cap goes up and Dallas is potentially in a better financial position, it could be their star edge rusher who resets the NFL's market for non-quarterbacks.
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