The Dallas Cowboys have a propensity to take an inordinate amount of time to extend star players.
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb agreed to terms on an extension in late August of last year. Quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t get his lucrative-deal finalized until the day of the Cowboys’ Week 1 season opener.
Jerry Jones is following a similar script with pass rusher Micah Parsons.
The expectation is the Cowboys and Parsons will finalize a record extension before the start of the regular season, a person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
However, the typical waiting game Jones likes to play is only costing the Cowboys owner more money.
Yesterday’s price isn’t today’s price.
The market for edge rushers has increased this offseason after the Cleveland Browns re-signed Myles Garrett to a four-year extension that averages $40 million per year and the Pittsburgh Steelers inked T.J. Watt to a three-year, $123 million extension, making him the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback.
Parsons’ next deal is believed to exceeded them both.
Jones and the Cowboys could’ve saved millions of dollars if they re-signed Parsons last offseason, or even before Garrett or Watt got their contracts finished.
“I will never understand it,’ Parsons said in an interview with WWE wrestler Mark Calaway, better known as The Undertaker. ‘We wanted to do the contract last year – then you go out there and perform again. You would think, ‘All right, we’ll get it done early, we know some guys are about to get re-paid.’ There’s Myles [Garrett], Maxx [Crosby] is going, so you would think, ‘Hey, let’s get ahead of that.’
‘You can’t want us to take less (now) because you’re the one that decided to wait.’
Several members of Parsons’ 2021 draft class inked what at time were record deals. The Cincinnati Bengals made Ja’Marr Chase the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver, and the Los Angeles Chargers gave left tackle Rashawn Slater the richest contract in NFL history for an offensive lineman by average annual salary. Slater, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was selected one spot after Parsons in the 2021 draft.
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Dallas even managed to get an extension complete for tight end Jake Ferguson on Sunday. Perhaps the contract negotiation saga(s) for Cowboys star players are strategic. The longer Parsons’ contract ordeal continues, the longer the situation stays in the news. Forbes named the Cowboys the world’s richest franchise, worth an estimated $10.1 billion in 2024. Much of the Cowboys’ value is because of the franchise’s unparalleled ability to stay relevant and in the media.
Parsons’ ongoing contract situation is one of the main (if not the top) stories in the league right now.
Jones is accustomed to high-profile contract situations. They tend to drag on longer than necessary. But it seems to be part of Jones’ playbook to keep “America’s Team” in the news.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.