Micah Parsons had Las Vegas edge rusher Maxx Crosby to thank for securing his financial future. Next, the thanks and gratitude belongs to Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett who surpassed Crosby in annual average salary Sunday morning.
And suddenly there are questions about Parsons staying in Dallas.
And Parsons offering answers.
Parsons, who is extension-eligible this offseason, has now created an Excedrin headache for team owner and general manager Jerry Jones. After all, Parsons is going to want to smash both of those contracts this week and negotiate an extension north of Garrett's $40 million per season.
Garrett threatened not to report to training camp and made public demands to be traded. Browns owner Jimmy Haslem rejected an olive branch from Garrett to negotiate a deal on Saturday. At that point, it looked like all bets were off the table.
Garrett finally got his sit down with Haslem on Sunday and let bygones be bygones as he signed a long-term extension with the Browns, something he said he would never do.
A contract averaging $40 million a season could create a lot of forgiveness.
Garrett signed a four-year deal worth $160 million at the age of 29.
Parsons, who arguably is just as good, if not better than Garrett, will be 25. He is heading into his fifth NFL season and set to play on a team option for the price of $24 million.
And so ... Micah's going to follow the Myles blueprint by demanding a trade in order to force a payday. Right?
"No, I don't plan on following suit," Garrett told Zach Gelb of making a similar play as Garrett. "As long as, you know, I get a deal done, I think I'll be pretty happy."
It is now time for Jones to pay the man handsomely. He should be in the Garrett neighborhood, and maybe more ...
But what he should not have to do it beg or threaten to get there.
Related: Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer Responds To Micah Parsons Contract Negotiations
Micah did have a joyous response to the latest deal.
"Lol yooo wtf ," Parsons wrote on X following news of Garrett's deal.
Had Jones started the negotiations sooner, he arguably could have set the temporary market by signing Parsons first. Of course, Micah would've had to say yes to a lesser deal.
We will never know if he would've done do.
But Jones waited; CowboysCountry.com reported on Wednesday that no hard offer has been made ... and now the Cowboys and their cap have to suffer the consequences.
Eventually, Jerry will pay in excess of $40 million a season for an asset he might have had for an annual average value of $35 million a season.
Luckily, for Jones, Micah's plan seems to be to take a deserved chunk out of the cap ... without trying to destroy Jerry's reputation by demanding a blockbuster trade. ...
Which right about now seems pretty polite of Micah.
Related: ‘Clown' Myles Garrett A Hypocrite for Signing with Browns
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This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 3:31 PM.