NFL insider offers update on Micah Parsons, contract extension talks with Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys star defender Micah Parsons is expected to receive a contract extension sometime this offseason. With the start of the regular season rapidly approaching, fans are expecting news of the deal to break anytime this summer.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, fans shouldn’t worry themselves when it could get done. The two parties want to be together in 2025 and for years to come. However, the details of Parsons’ contract may be what’s holding them up from putting pen to paper.

“Dallas wants to pay Micah Parsons, that’s no secret,” Fowler said during SportsCenter on Saturday morning. “They are in on this. They know he’s going to get a huge number. He’s one of the very best pass rushers in the league. Of the details here will be key — you’ve seen Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb in the past get four-year deals with huge guarantees. Dallas typically, in the past, wants to do five-year deals. So it’s about how far Micah Parsons wants to push the envelope.”

Fowler pondered if Parsons would be more interested in a shorter deal with higher guarantees and incentives as opposed to a five-year deal. It may be based on whether Dallas is willing to meet his demands.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is known for wanting to sign his high-profile players to long-term contracts. However, Parsons may not want to be locked into a five or even six-year deal given that he wouldn’t reach the free agency market until his early 30s, as opposed to a couple of years younger with a shorter deal. As if thinking two steps ahead, getting a shorter contract could ensure more money down the line on his next deal.

“Those are all the details that they’re going to hash out,” Fowler said. “It will heat up closer to training camp, well into camp. Dallas likes to do these things in August, kind of later than some teams.”

The Cowboys are also in position to re-sign Tyler Smith, regarded as one of the best guards in the NFL, to a new contract. This could hold up Parsons’ discussions later than it would have been otherwise. However, as Dallas has proven in the past few years, they’re not afraid to pay. It just might not happen immediately.

The highest-paid guards in the NFL are commanding north of $20 million per season. In 2024, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Landon Dickerson to a $21 million-per-year deal making him the highest-paid guard in the NFL. Smith, who is making less than $4 million on his rookie deal, could land around that area.

That means the Cowboys front office will have a lot of work to do between now and Dallas’ season opener against the Eagles on Sept. 4. For now, it appears that fans will have to wait to see their star defender re-sign with America’s Team.