The Dallas Cowboys have yet to ink edge rusher Micah Parsons to a contract extension, and the price figures only to be going up while they wait.
Dallas already made quarterback Dak Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history based on annual average salary by inking him to a four-year extension worth $240 million ($60 million per season) in September 2024.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter appeared on the Tuesday, June 17 edition of “Unsportsmanlike Radio with Evan Canty and Michelle” and predicted that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will eventually make Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in league history once the linebacker ultimately signs an extension of his own.
“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. I don’t have an exact number. … But I can say, I believe with great confidence, that Micah Parsons will become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. If you go back and look at some of the numbers, his numbers are outstanding. And he’s younger than all of them.”
Garrett inked a four-year contract extension this offseason with the Cleveland Browns worth a total of $160 million ($40 million annually), which is the most any defender at any position has ever made on a per season basis. As such, that is the number Schefter is predicting Parsons will beat.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
© Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Parsons, a former first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in 2021, is entering the final season of his rookie contract in 2025. He initially inked a four-year deal worth $17.1 million, but Dallas exercised a fifth-year team option on that agreement, which pays Parsons just over $24 million in his age-26 campaign.
Technically, the Cowboys will be able to use the franchise tag to hold onto Parsons on a lucrative one-year contract in 2026, though it makes far more sense for the team to extend him before that if Dallas intends to keep him longterm. The longer they wait, the more Parsons’ price tag is likely to rise based on projected increases to the league-wide salary cap and other defensive players potentially resetting the high watermark financially.
Parsons is a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro honoree who has amassed 63 tackles for loss and 52.5 sacks in 63 games played over his four-year NFL career.
