We Know What Gives Cowboys Pause About Making Micah Parsons NFL's Top-Paid Non-QB And Why They Delay

The Dallas Cowboys have begun their football business with the opening of training camp in Oxnard, CA., but the financial business of signing edge rusher Micah Parsons to a contract extension is what dominated the opening news conference with Jerry Jones.

And at that presser, the club's owner, president and general manager gave us the clearest reasoning why the Cowboys have seemingly slow-walked getting a Parsons deal done, even as the overall price for doing so rises steadily.

It's about injuries. And guaranteed money.

OXNARD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 08:  Owner and President Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys signs autographs after training camp at River Ridge Fields on August 08, 2022 in Oxnard, California. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)

Jones Concerned About Guaranteed Money

Simply, Jones is concerned about guaranteed monies that would be due Parsons and reflect on the salary cap even if the player is injured and not playing or performing years from now.

"Just because we sign him doesn't mean we are going to have him," Jones said in pulling back the curtain on the team's internal concern. "He was hurt six games last year. Seriously. We've signed, I remember signing a player for the highest-paid position in the league and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year – Dak Prescott. 

"So there's a lot of things you think about, just as the player does, when you're thinking about committing and guaranteeing money."

A couple of things:

Parsons actually missed four games last season, not six. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 4 and didn't return to the lineup until Week 9.

Parsons had played all 17 games his two previous years.

DALLAS, TEXAS - MAY 16: Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott attends an in-store event at David Yurman on May 16, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for David Yurman )

Prescott Got Less Fully Guaranteed

And, yes, the Cowboys lost Prescott for the final nine games of the season after they made him the NFL's highest-paid player in September.

So does delaying on Parsons – trying to win some contract negotiation skirmishes that delay an eventual signing – help the Cowboys?

Well, yes, if history can be believed.

Consider that Prescott signed his deal one year after Joe Burrow and two months after Trevor Lawrence last offseason. And, yes, he beat those previous deals on an annual average basis.

But Prescott agreed to $129 million in fully guaranteed money while Burrow got $146.5 million in fully guaranteed and Lawrence got $142 million in fully guaranteed money. 

So waiting longer somehow resulted in the Cowboys paying less in fully guaranteed money on a deal that was bigger overall than the other two. They also paid less in total guarantees versus the Lawrence contract and paid less fully guaranteed than what Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert got in 2023.

Lamb Got Less Fully Guaranteed Money

When the Cowboys paid receiver C.D. Lamb last August, they still had to get him close to the deal Justin Jefferson signed with the Vikings in June that made Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback at the time. Lamb is averaging $34 million per season on an annual average basis and Jefferson is averaging $35 million on an annual average basis.

But the Cowboys gave Lamb $67 million in fully guaranteed money while the Vikings paid Jefferson $88 million fully guaranteed.

The Cowboys, at least in those instances, seemed to save on fully guaranteed money in exchange for signing deals later.

There is a well-documented (in the press) drawback to waiting longer on contracts: The overall price generally goes up. 

(Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)

Parsons Reports To Cowboys Camp

And that applies to Parsons because what is certain is he will not agree to a deal that doesn't make him the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback.

And the reason for that is that T.J. Watt just signed a deal that made him the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback.

Before that, Myles Garrett signed a deal that made him the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback.

And before that, Maxx Crosby signed an extension with the Raiders that made him the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback.

When three of the last four players who became the league's highest-paid non-quarterback were edge rushers – Ja'Marr Chase was the exception – you better believe edge rusher Parsons fully expects to be the next guy on the list.

And the player who has collected 52.5 sacks in 63 NFL starts is doing his part because he reported for training camp on Monday despite his unsettled contract negotiations.

That, by the way, may earn him some leadership points with the Cowboys.

"It's incumbent when you're in that price range," Jones said. "When you're up there in the top 10 percent, so to speak, of the league and that top quartile of the team, leadership is really big. And leadership exhibits itself when you're negotiating as well. And I'm appreciative of Micah being here. I am."