Micah Parsons made it clear he has no intentions of taking a hometown discount as his contract extension negotiations struggle to get off the ground. According to a story in Pro Football Talk, Parsons said $40 million would make him the "happiest man alive".
Me too, Micah; me too. Unfortunately, I don’t play football. But, you are well within your right to demand whatever the market is. And thanks to Jerry Jones taking his time with the negotiations, he’ll have no choice but to break the bank to keep Parsons in Arlington.
Within the last few weeks, both Myles Garrett and Ja’Marr Chase negotiated $40 million per year in average salary, resetting the market for non-quarterbacks. Parsons is smart to know he deserves to be in that conversation.
In the final year of his rookie deal, Parsons is set to make over $24 million in 2025. That’s well above the first four years of his contract. Could he be content with that? Parsons could force Jones’ hand to pay more than he wanted, but it might not necessarily cost him a Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb-sized cap hit.
Micah Parsons set to reset the non-quarterback market and could force Jerry Jones’ hand to cut the check
Parsons sounds like a player that would be happy with more money than he currently has. He doesn’t seem like the player that would pull a Lamb and hold out until he gets the contract he wants.
Which is why Jones could possibly get away with underpaying Parsons on his next contract. Now underpaying is relative, because paying Parsons $35 million a year isn’t necessarily cheap. But it doesn’t reset the non-quarterback market, if you will.
Parsons has had a destructive NFL career so far, totaling 256 tackles and 52.5 sacks through his first four seasons. He also has 9 forced fumbles. He deserves whatever he asks for. But he also has to be careful.
He didn’t come out and say he wants to be the highest-paid non-quarterback. Chase and Garrett were willing to do whatever it took to get the contract they wanted. Parsons might be happy to simply make more money.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think his goal is to reset the market again. I think he’d be happy to, but that doesn’t seem like his end goal like it has been for other players who have voiced how important it is for them to have some of the most expensive contracts in the NFL.