As we've covered the ongoing contract saga between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons ad nauseam, there's really no need to get into the entire timeline yet again. Parsons wants a new deal, hasn't gotten it, and has requested a trade. Jerry Jones believed they'd reached an agreement months ago, but nothing was ever documented, and he hasn't yet budged. That pretty much sums things up at this point, don't you think?
Here's the thing. While Parsons can continue to request a trade until he's Cowboy Blue in the face, Jones is under no obligation whatsoever to trade him. And at the end of the day, Jones, for better or worse, has all the leverage.
Parsons is under contract on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, which will pay him $24.007 million this season—a figure that will drop significantly on a week-to-week basis if he continues to hold out and opts out of games.
And while the four-time Pro Bowler is technically set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, the Cowboys have every right to keep him for two additional years by placing the franchise tag on him.
Cowboys franchise tagging Micah Parsons would be the worse-case scenario
What's worse for Parsons in this scenario, which hasn't gotten as much attention as maybe it should, is that it would cost Jones less to take this route.
One has to assume Parsons is hoping to get somewhere in the vicinity of the $41 million per season that T.J. Watt received in his new three-year extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But if the Cowboys were to tag him for the 2026 campaign, the current projection at his position comes out to roughly $26.5 million. And if a second tag was used for the 2027 season, the current projection comes out to approximately $31.8 million.
And if Parsons refuses to sign the tender, he simply doesn't play and doesn't get paid, a la Le'Veon Bell in 2018.
So, again, Jones has the leverage here. And let's not forget that he's not afraid to use the franchise tag on high-profile players.
Dak Prescott wanted a new contract once his rookie deal expired following the 2019 season, didn't get it, and was slapped with the tag for the 2020 campaign. Jones then tagged him a second time in 2021 before the two sides finally came to terms on a four-year, $160 million extension.
So, perhaps that's how the Parsons saga plays out. Or maybe this all goes the Myles Garrett route. Garrett, of course, requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns back in February before agreeing to a four-year, $160 million extension just over a month later.
Much like the world has been doing for quite some time now, we just have to wait and see how this standoff plays out.
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