Micah Parsons on Cowboys extension: ‘I don’t think we can afford to keep having things wait out’
At media row ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Dallas Cowboys star defender Micah Parsons draws a huge crowd wherever he walks in a convention center full of NFL superstars.
It’s for good reason.
He’s coming off his fourth straight season with 12 or more sacks, joining Hall of Famer Reggie White as the only players to accomplish that feat.
After he walks through shaking hands and doing interviews, he walks out of the convention center where he remains the center of attention in a Cowboys offseason that largely revolves around the status of his contract extension.
Parsons has established himself as one of the top defensive players in the league and is expecting a contract extension this offseason that reflects that. Much like wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott did ahead of the 2024 offseaso,n when they got their respective extensions, Parsons is ready to take advantage of his turn in line.
“Everyone waited their turn,” Parsons told Bleacher Report. “CeeDee did his four years, I did my four years, Dak did his. We all wait our turn. This is a business where everyone gets handsomely paid after they wait their turn.”
In the final month of the regular season, Parsons spoke about his contract status and said that he would like to get it done with the Cowboys sooner rather than later so the team has more clarity heading into free agency. With a little over a month until free agency kicks off, Parsons still has urgency in mind.
“We have a lot of guys to sign,” he said. “I don’t think we can afford to keep having things wait out.”
While Parsons said in that late-season interview that he didn’t need to be the highest-paid or the first defensive player to reach the $40 million per year echelon, his performance on and off the field certainly solidified his impending payday. Despite being hurt and missing games for the first time in his career, he said it helped set him up for what’s ahead in his career.
“Honestly, I thought it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me,” Parsons said. “Life is easy, the season is easy when you’re winning and blowing teams out. When you’re on the other side of the fence and you’re losing, guys are getting injured, it’s like, ‘Hold up, I can lead now. I can step up and be the guy to carry it.’”
