The star on the Dallas Cowboys helmet is reserved for one man only. It should stand for the team coming together and playing as one, but that is never the case when you have an egomaniacal owner like Jerry Jones. He has made it a hall-of-fame career of making it about himself. It is why we still do not have superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons under a new contract yet this late into the summer.
Truth be told, Parsons is going about this the right way. He is going to put his head down and work harder, hoping someone sees his value, even if the Cowboys' brass does not even remotely claim to. He said as much when talking to Nick Farabaugh of Penn Live after running his football camp. The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native and former Penn State star knows he is going to get paid quite well.
Parsons has been nothing but a good soldier since coming to Dallas, so that is not going to change.
"I just work harder. Like, to me, I look at it like if people don't see your value, you don't cry and sit down. You just work harder. You got to show people your value. I just think that's the difference. Like I go, OK, bet, and I just work."
However, this ultimatum of sorts suggests that his loyalties are not as strong with Dallas as you think.
"I'm just going to get mine, no matter what. You know what I mean? Like, the markets change every year. Their salary cap went up, like, another 18 percent this year. So, if you want to know contracts, all the contracts are based off of percentage. Like, each player, a high-paid player, takes a percentage of the salary cap. So, it's not really the number. It goes off by the salary cap."
Dallas almost always is able to strike a deal with its stars, but it is after Jones turns it into a circus.
Jerry Jones is the reason why Micah Parsons has not been extended yet
In most offseasons, Parsons not having a new contract would be the biggest talking point across the NFL. Unfortunately for Jones, there is a far more tumult going on in the AFC North. The Trey Hendrickson disaster has put the Cincinnati Bengals in such a bad light. Not to be outdone, the Pittsburgh Steelers have certainly made a mess with it when it comes to T.J. Watt getting extended.
Of course, Dallas could be trending toward getting its star pass rusher under contract soon, just like the Las Vegas Raiders did with Maxx Crosby and the Cleveland Browns did with Myles Garrett. Those are far more dysfunctional teams that Dallas. Crosby and Garrett had their doubts about returning to their moribund AFC franchises. Remember how nasty things got between Garrett and Cleveland?
Ultimately, this all falls on Jones. Parsons may want to return to Dallas, but he knows this is a business. Either Dallas pays him handsomely or somebody else will. The way he is going about it is both commendable, yet semi-unrealistic. People are people, man. Going out there and performing in the midst of a contract dispute is easier said than done. Then again, Parsons might be built for this.
Dallas has a decent shot at making the playoffs, but the Cowboys will not get there without Parsons.