Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons attended the team’s mandatory minicamp this week despite not coming to agreement on a new contract after his current deal expires after this season. (However, he skipped voluntary OTAs in the spring.)
In the edge rusher’s view, team owner Jerry Jones would have already saved money had he signed Parsons to an extension by now.
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“It’s going to cost them more,” Parsons told longtime reporter Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS.
Parsons, 26, is in a race with fellow pass rushers Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL with their new deal. Both of those players didn’t report to mandatory minicamps amid their respective contract disputes.
The four-time Pro Bowler said that he and Jones made a handshake deal in March, according to Hill (via Pro Football Talk). But the Cowboys owner never called Parsons’ agent to work out the final details of a contract.
Parsons claims that he’s seen what Watt is asking for from the Pittsburgh Steelers, which has not been reported. But whatever Watt is seeking is more than what Parsons and Jones had agreed to, according to the four-year veteran. And if Watt gets the contract he wants, Parsons will almost certainly ask for more, which is what he meant by his remarks to Hill.
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Myles Garrett currently holds the belt for the league’s highest-paid pass rusher after agreeing to a four-year extension with the Cleveland Browns in early March that pays him an average annual salary of $40 million. However, Ja’Marr Chase’s new deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, signed less than a week later, edged him out for the top spot at $40.25 million per season.
Parsons is set to be paid $24 million this season after the Cowboys picked up his fifth-year option. He hopes to get a deal finalized before training camp begins on July 21. If no deal is done, he says he will report but not practice.
During his NFL career, Parsons has averaged 14 sacks per season, in addition to 69 tackles, two forced fumbles and 17 tackles for loss. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and was named first-team All-Pro in his first two seasons. Last year, Parsons was named second-team All-Pro after notching 12 sacks.
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