The Multi-Million Gamble: Can Jerry Jones Afford to Pay Micah Parsons Without Breaking the Cowboys?

A few days ago, the Cowboys‘ quarterback and their face of the franchise, Dak Prescott, made it clear that Micah Parsons will soon get his deal done. “We’re all very confident that Micah’s going to get this deal done,” Prescott said last week. “It starts with Micah and Jerry and I think they’ve both alluded to that.” But the real question is: can Jerry Jones afford to pay Parsons?

It all depends on the ever-shifting edge rushers market. When Maxx Crosby inked that massive three-year, $106.5 million ($35.5M per year) extension, it instantly became the gold standard for elite pass rushers. But Micah, ever confident, waved it off, insisting he wouldn’t chase a $40 million-a-year deal. “I don’t need $40 million per year,” he insisted, citing his focus on surrounding everyone with talent and winning rather than salary.

At that moment, Crosby’s deal felt perfectly fair—no need to stretch expectations any further. Then came Myles Garrett’s jaw-dropping contract—$40 million per year—and everything shifted. A market once anchored by Crosby’s commitment had been blown apart, and the Browns blew the ceiling clean off. Rounding all that up, that means only one thing: Crosby’s and Garrett’s contract extensions are surely going to affect Parsons’ next deal.

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Given that Garrett is older than Parsons and signed a $160 million deal with the Browns after eight years, it’s unlikely Parsons will sign more than $40 million per year. To back that up, Garrett outperformed Parsons in every aspect of the game (in the last four seasons), including total sacks, 60 to 52.5, and he also has a better AV, 67 to 60. Plus, Garrett has four Pro Bowls, three first-team All-Pros, and a Defensive Player of the Year award a couple of years ago.

And that could be the argument Jerry Jones and Co. will try to make. Because Parsons is good, no doubt. But he’s not Myles Garrett yet. On the other side, Crosby inked $35.5M per year; no doubt, Micah wants higher than that. That means we can expect Parsons to ink a deal between $36M to $38M per year. But there’s a catch—Jerry Jones.

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How does delaying Micah Parsons’ contract cost Jerry Jones more?Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett may headline the early wave of extensions, but they likely won’t remain the highest-paid edge rushers for long. Their deals have set the parameters—Garrett establishing the ceiling, Crosby the floor. But with Trey Hendrickson, T.J. Watt, and especially Micah Parsons next in line, the market is poised for another leap. And that’s where it gets interesting for Parsons.

At this point, Parsons is certainly unlikely to go higher than Garrett. But Jerry Jones has a knack for stretching the contract extensions. He did it before. And he’s doing it again. If the Steelers hand T.J. Watt a deal that tops Garrett’s, that instantly becomes Parsons’ new benchmark. And if Hendrickson lands the raise he’s after, the entire edge rusher market could be blown wide open. Huge red flag for Jerry and Dallas.

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The $40 million per year deal might become $45 million or maybe $50 million. A $10 million difference. Later, it’s absolutely going to affect the Cowboys’ roster in the future. After all, Jerry has a reputation for staying loyal to his players. He’d need to address Dak and CeeDee Lamb’s future. He definitely doesn’t want to part ways with the team’s veterans. Add free agency spending to it, then safe to say that if the Cowboys don’t sign Parsons on time, things could get messy for the roster.

All in all, for Jerry Jones, affording Micah Parsons isn’t the problem—it’s affording the consequences of waiting too long