FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys star edge rusher Micah Parsons knows he has outgrown his rookie contract, and with his fourth NFL season in the books, it's time to collect his second contract.
Parsons' 52.5 sacks are the fifth most in the NFL being selected 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft while his 330 career quarterback pressures co-lead the league in that span along with Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders. His 2.5 sacks in the Cowboys' Week 18 season finale gave him 12.0 for the 2024, which tied him for the fifth most in the NFL despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain.
The three-time All-Pro hitting 12.0 sacks on Sunday also made him just the second player since individual sacks have been tracked (1982) to hit the 12 sacks benchmark in each of his first four seasons along with Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White.
Most sacks in first four seasons played (since 1982)
| Player | Seasons | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
Reggie White | 1985-1988 | 70.0 |
Derrick Thomas | 1989-1992 | 58.0 |
2011-2014 | 57.0 | |
2005-2008 | 53.5 | |
Micah Parsons | 2021-2024 | 52.5 |
2002-2005 | 51.0 |
* Individual sacks became an officially tracked metric in 1982
That's why Parsons said postgame on Sunday that he wants to get paid for what he is: "The best in the business." He also knows the importance of getting his megadeal done prior to the start of free agency, which would help Dallas have the freedom to pull various levers to open up more cap space in the present to bolster a roster fresh off an injury-plagued 7-10 season.
Parsons is also well aware that contracts of his magnitude take plenty of time when working with owner and general manager Jerry Jones. He saw All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb's (four years, $136 million) and All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott's (four years, $240 million) contracts not get done until after training camp, which caused Lamb to holdout. In the case of Prescott, his didn't get done until hours before kickoff in Week 1 at the Cleveland Browns.
The duration of last offseason's negotiations is why he asked Jerry Jones to meet in his suite at the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal at AT&T Stadium Friday night to get the ball rolling on their upcoming contract talks.
"I'll talk to Micah. I'll talk to him about it," Jerry Jones said postgame on Sunday. "As a matter of fact, I think he's called, and I think he's sitting with me at the Cotton Bowl. That's probably where we'll do some talking."
At the Cowboys' locker room cleanout on Monday morning, Parsons gave some insight into some of the key topics he wants to discuss with Jones as they look to continue their partnership long term.
"It's all going to start just at the roots of like obviously, 'Where do you see us going? How can we become contenders? How do we bounce back from this year? What are the plans?' Parsons said. "Those are the types of things that I would ask, and I hope he asks me things, too."
When asked to give a sneak preview of what he might tell Jones in terms of his own thoughts on the Cowboys' roster needs going forward, Parsons kept his answer brief.
"Nah, nah, nah," Parsons said with a chuckle.
The All-Pro edge rusher felt confident in reaching out to Jones to set up the meeting because Friday night won't be the first football game the two have enjoyed sitting side by side in the stands. When Jones saw Parsons at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel ahead of last season's Super Bowl, he invited Parsons and his friends to join him in his suite at Allegiant Stadium for the game.
"I would say Jerry's always been so great to me in every aspect from sitting with him at the Super Bowl [last year]," said Parsons, who stressed it'll be great to talk with the one person who "kind of believed in me first" and try to accomplish a new deal that will "really make us happy and the fans happy."
