The Dallas Cowboys and star edge rusher Micah Parsons were at the center of NFL discourse on Tuesday, April 1, as the owners’ meetings continued in Palm Beach, Florida.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke to media members about the ongoing negotiations with Parsons involving an extension for the four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher, who is entering the fifth-year team option of his rookie deal. In doing so, Jones was dismissive of Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta, which ignited something of an indirect back and forth between the owner and his star player.
“The agent is not a concern here,” Jones said. “I don’t know his name.”
“Facts!! David is the best, and I will not be doing any deal without [him] involved,” Parsons posted to X. “Like anyone with good sense, I hired experts for a reason. There is no one I trust more when it comes to negotiating contracts than David! There will be no backdoors in this contract.”
Despite the barbs from each side, ESPN’s Adam Schefter appeared on the Tuesday evening edition of SportsCenter and reported that Parsons and the Cowboys ultimately “will” get a deal done and that Parsons will remain in Dallas long-term.
Schefter went on to note that Jones “isn’t in a hurry” to get a deal signed, though it is objective fact that the sooner Dallas inks Parsons, the less expensive he’s going to be.
Parsons is eligible to extend now, though Dallas can push off a deal until next offseason, at which point the Cowboys would have the option to use the franchise tag to lock him up for a sixth season at a top-of-the-market salary.
However, the NFL’s salary cap continues increasing annually and has jumped more than $50 million in the last two years alone. The top salaries at each premier position are also trending up essentially every year, with Myles Garrett resetting the edge rusher market at $40 million annually via his most recent extension with the Cleveland Browns.
The Cowboys have already broken the bank on the likes of quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs. The longer they wait to pay Parsons, the more he’s likely to cost, which means the more money they will have tied up at the top of the roster and the less cash they’ll have to spend to build out a Super Bowl-contending team.
