In the last year, we’ve seen the Dallas Cowboys kick the can down the road on contract extensions. First, it was Dak Prescott, then CeeDee Lamb, and to nobody’s surprise, Micah Parsons is the latest case.
Dallas’ superstar pass rusher has openly pushed for an extension and even said he’d take less money to help them with free agency.
While that is very helpful of Parsons, it will only matter if the Cowboys pick up the phone and work out a deal before free agency starts in under three weeks. The clock is ticking, and it appears the front office doesn’t care.
Let’s take a look at a few explanations for this unsurprising delay in Dallas, and what it could mean for the offseason and Parsons’ future as a Cowboy.
The Big Problem: Front Office Failures
There is an easy answer here, and it revolves around the Dallas front office. As NFL minds, not as businessmen, Jerry and Stephen Jones are simply ineffective.
The pair have hurt the on-field product with off-field mistakes, specifically when it comes to contracts and trades. They complained that a lack of money held them back in free agency last year, when they chose not to create more cap space.
Signing Prescott and Lamb before the start of the offseason in 2024 would have given Dallas a ton of cap space by pushing the big cap hit years down the road.
Instead, they stalled, got stuck in a bad cap situation, and could only muster enough money to sign Ezekiel Elliott and Eric Kendricks.
This is precisely what is unfolding again in 2025 with Micah Parsons.
Whether or not you think Parsons should be extended or traded, a good, aggressive front office would have done it by now. Delaying the inevitable decision helps nobody, and certainly not the Cowboys.
The Money Problem: Too Many Stars To Pay?
An alternative angle is that Dallas doesn’t want to commit so much money to so few players, leading to a top-heavy roster with little depth and financial mobility.
The argument would be that paying Prescott, Lamb, and Parsons top dollar shuts the team out from being able to sign depth pieces or critical starters. Osa Odighizuwa would be a good example of that.
Dallas’ defensive tackle is headed toward free agency and could end up with a sizable contract.
Perhaps the team feels they can’t afford what his price tag would be if they also gave historic money to Micah Parsons.
Whether or not that’s a good argument is up for debate, but they’d indeed be tying themselves to a massive amount of money for just three players. We’ve seen how much they spend on free agents when that isn’t the case, so it could become even worse.
In short, the money Parsons wants and deserves is costly, and while it makes sense to pay him it also makes sense that they’d mull it over before making such a commitment.
The Bottom Line: Don’t Repeat Past Mistakes
I see this whole situation as an opportunity for the Cowboys’ front office to make right on past mistakes.
They thoroughly hurt the team with their handling of the big contract extensions last year. By failing to lock up their two offensive stars quickly, they cost themselves money, got locked out of free agents, and caused a spectacle as the season was approaching.
It was a bad look for all parties, and it had real consequences for roster building. You cannot repeat the same situation in 2025 with Micah Parsons.
They are going to extend him at some point. The trade rumors may be fun to speculate about, but this contract will get done.
Dallas needs to do it now, structure it so it saves money for free agency, and then spend some more.
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