When the Dallas Cowboys took the field for their first practice of training camp Tuesday in Oxnard, California, All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons was with his teammates. That’s notable because the 26-year-old still doesn’t have a contract extension ahead of the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.
Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones questioned Parsons’ durability on Monday after the 26-year-old missed four games in 2024 with an ankle sprain. On the heels of those comments, Parsons himself confirmed Tuesday that there hasn’t been much movement in the negotiations and said he has no idea when he could get re-signed by Dallas.
“I don’t know. We’ll see, we’ll see how long things take,” Parsons said via The Athletic. “There’s not really much movement, man. I want to be here. I’ve always stated I want to be here, but you know, at the end of the day, they sign the checks like always. Let’s see if they want me to be here at the end of the day.”
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In April at the NFL’s annual league meeting, Jones quipped that he didn’t know the name of Parsons’ agent, but Parsons made it clear David Mulugheta has been reaching out to the Cowboys front office to get down to business.
“My agent has been reaching out. At one point, one grown man has to be reaching out himself,” Parsons said via The Athletic. “Communication works both ways. They reached out, so that needs to happen too. They got to want to do it on their part.”
Parsons clarified Mulugheta hasn’t just reached out to the Jones family but to Adam Prasifka, the Cowboys’ senior director of salary cap and player contracts, as well. Ultimately, Parsons doesn’t mind if the Cowboys don’t want to pay up to keep him around long-term. He understands everyone needs to look out for themselves.
“Honestly for me, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been pretty consistent. If they don’t want me here, they don’t want me here. I’ll go about my business. I understand the nature of the business,” Parsons said via The Athletic. “As far as I’m here and under contract, I’m going to do what I have to do to perform at the highest level, but if this is the end, this is the end. Same with the Joneses. Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones and the other Jerry Jones [Jerry Jr.] take care of their family, the same way I need to take care of my family. I got three kids of my own, so we all need to take care of our own family at the end of the day.”
He did kick off contract talks with Jones back on Jan. 10 but he still doesn’t have a deal after the first practice of training camp. When asked point blank if he was discouraged about how long contract talks have dragged on, Parsons said it stings.
“Honestly, yeah,” Parsons said. “When you go around the league and you see these other teams taking care of their best guys, I see T.J. [Watt] got taken care of. Maxx [Crosby] got taken care of. Myles [Garrett] got taken care of. He [Garrett] had two years left on his deal. You see a lot of people around the league getting taken care of, and you wish you had something like, you know, that same type of energy.”
T.J. Watt (PIT)* | $41 million | $123 million | 3 |
Myles Garrett (CLE)* | $40 million | $160 million | 4 |
Danielle Hunter (HOU)* | $35.6 million | $35.6 million | 1 |
Maxx Crosby (LV)* | $35.5 million | $106.5 million | 3 |
Nick Bosa (SF) | $34 million | $170 million | 5 |
* Contract signed this offseason
Parsons has also watched extension negotiations with his teammates Dak Prescott (eventually re-signed on a four-year, $240 million deal) and CeeDee Lamb (eventually re-signed on a four-year, $136 million extension) drag on and take on a life of their own after Jones made public comments across the course of the offseason. That’s why he believes it’s nothing personal as prolonging and delaying in contract negotiations with star players is how Jones has chosen to operate.
“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to not take it personally when there’s a chain of events of something consistent happening over the course of years where you kind of see it before through other players and things, you don’t take that personal,” Parsons said. “It’s not like I’m getting treated differently than anyone else. I don’t take it personally. I just don’t understand it.”
Parsons has made it clear he would prefer to remain with the Cowboys. Many star players around the NFL wouldn’t report or participate in their team’s training camp if in the kind of contract dispute Parsons finds himself in. Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin didn’t report to training camp on Tuesday. Neither did Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson.
“I want to be here. I’ve always stated I want to be here, but at the end of the day, they sign the checks like always,” Parsons said via All City DLLS. “I think they got their own timeline on when they want to get things done. At any given time, they could get things done. I don’t think that [being at training camp] helps. I’m doing this for myself and my teammates.”
Parsons wants to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback. Watt currently holds that crown with a $41 million average per year salary on his new, three-year contract. The numbers back Parsons’ quest to top Watt financially. Parsons’ 330 quarterback pressures are tied for the most in the NFL with Crosby since he entered the league in 2021 (per TruMedia). He’s also the only player since sacks began being tracked as an individual statistic in 1982 to have 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons in the NFL.
“I feel like I’m the best at what I do,” Parsons said via All City DLLS. “You can argue whoever, but stats, numbers don’t lie. The consistency is there. And availability is there.”
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Author: Garrett Podell
July 22, 2025 | 8:35 pm
