When do you think there will be a resolution on the Micah contract situation?
Another offseason for the Dallas Cowboys, another superstar awaiting a contract extension. It’s become a regular thing with this football team. The front office shows no sense of urgency and drags its feet signing its big stars. It got so bad last year that Dak Prescott wasn’t extended until hours before kickoff of the season opener. Talk about cutting it close.
Last year, it was Prescott and CeeDee Lamb making the headlines. This year, it’s All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. From the moment he stepped onto the football field, it was pretty evident that a huge payday would eventually come his way. And now, four years later, that day is close to arriving.
The Cowboys will get Parsons signed. What happens between then and now will be a lot of posturing. Jerry and Stephen Jones will act like the two sides aren’t close, say some silly things in the media, and then, just when we’re not looking, a new deal will be done. We know this because we’ve heard this song all too many times. And like Bohemian Rhapsody, we all know the lyrics. His price might be a little high, little low, but anyway the wind blows, it doesn’t really matter. Parsons will get extended, and we will all be spared from this monstrosity.
While this is right on brand for the Cowboys front office, why does it have to go down this way? Truth be told, many contracts take time, and this happens all across the league. Except with Dallas, it just happens at a much higher frequency. Why is that?
First of all, they aren’t the assertive type. Yes, there have been a few times when they have signed players early, but that is because they felt they were getting a good deal. Examples include La’el Collins and Jaylon Smith. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we now understand why their agents were willing to accept a “discount,” and the Cowboys’ proactiveness did not work out in their favor. Even if a team lucks out and locks in a long-term deal that turns out in their favor, players can choose to hold out later as they look for fair compensation, a la Zack Martin.
The Cowboys don’t do that. They are more risk-averse now. They have indicated that they are okay with waiting. They prefer situations where a player has something to play for, and if they do well, they’ll gladly pony up the cash. When it comes to high-dollar contracts, it’s more important for the Cowboys to secure a safe investment than it is to save a little money by acting early.
And they aren’t in the business of letting stars get away. Can you remember the last time someone walked in free agency where it came back to bite them? No. No Ragrets.
If the Cowboys aren’t interested in extending players a year early, why can’t they get it done sooner the following year? Why can’t they knock it out in the spring instead of waiting until the end of summer? The reason they wait is that they are trying to get the other side to pull back a little. Nick Eatman from the Mothership offered some insight.
The Cowboys didn’t want to pay $63 million per year for Dak back in the summer. They really didn’t want to do $60 per year, but they also didn’t want to go into the season without a contract, so they took the deal. And for CeeDee, the Cowboys had no interest in some of the earlier offers.
Prescott’s agents were asking for a lot. While they didn’t get what they were asking for, they got a huge deal, but the Cowboys were able to drop the price by $3 million per season. It’s not much, but it’s something. They didn’t have the same success with Lamb. His representation held firm, and the Cowboys ultimately paid the original asking price after months of failed back-and-forths. Eatman went on to say…
That’s part of the negotiation, and it’s happening with Micah. I’m not saying the Cowboys couldn’t have more urgency, but I think if the fans knew what the original contract offer is from the agent and player, they’d probably have a different opinion about how the negotiations are going.
As the saying goes, it takes more than two to tango, or something like that.
If the Cowboys had more urgency and secured extensions in the spring, it could have allowed them to have more money to spend in free agency. However, the Cowboys aren’t big spenders in free agency, so that’s one perk that doesn’t really matter to them. If they need cap room, they can just do restructures. They are never hard-pressed to get a deal done to free up money that will allow them to do the roster moves they want to do.
The noise of the Parsons contract will continue to command the headlines, but in the end, it will end up just like the others. And while frustration continues to mount towards the front office for their contract negotiating practices, it really hasn’t served as the detriment that some have professed.
