Micah Parsons makes bold claim over his Cowboys salary extension
Parsons has played 63 regular-season games and has 256 tackles and 52.5 sacks, making him one of the NFL's best defenders.
The Dallas Cowboys will have to pay Micah Parsons what he’s worth if they want to keep one of the league’s top defensive players beyond 2025. That likely means making him the highest-paid player at his position in NFL history. So far, the NFC East franchise has approached contract talks with caution – but with just 50 days to go before the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, nothing has been finalized.
Although negotiations between the Cowboys and Parsons have stalled, the Penn State alum is confident his contract extension is inevitable. He also knows his salary will take up a significant chunk of Dallas’s salary cap.
“I’m going to get my contract regardless,” Parsons told Penn Live. “The market changes every year. The salary cap went up 18% this year, so if you know contracts, they’re all based on a percentage. Each top-paid player gets a percentage of the cap.”
In four seasons since being drafted 12th overall in 2021, Parsons has played 63 regular season games and racked up 256 tackles, 52.5 sacks, nine forced fumbles, nine passes defended, and four fumble recoveries. He’s also earned two First-Team All-Pro honors and been selected to the Pro Bowl four times.
How much will the Cowboys have to pay Micah Parsons?
The current highest-paid defensive player is Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who earns an average of $40 million a year after signing a four-year, $160 million extension. That means the Cowboys will need to top that figure to extend Parsons’s contract, which is set to expire at the end of the upcoming season. If they don’t, he’ll hit free agency in 2025 as an unrestricted free agent.
Parsons is slated to earn $24 million in 2025, after Dallas exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. So far, the 26-year-old has only made $17 million over his first four NFL seasons.
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