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Offseason | 2025

Micah Parsons not fazed by not having deal done: 'I just work harder'

7_16_ Micah Parsons

FRISCO, Texas – With the Cowboys heading to Oxnard for training camp in four days, All-Pro Micah Parsons' goal for having a contract extension with the organization has still not been fulfilled.

Speaking to reporters at his free youth football camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Parsons isn't fazed by still not having a deal done and is instead motivated by wanting to prove his worth.

"I just work harder," Parsons said. "To me, I look at it like if people don't see your value, you don't cry and sit down, you just work harder. You got to show people your value. I just think that's the difference. Like I go, 'OK, bet,' and I just work."

Parsons isn't the only elite pass rusher looking to get a deal done this offseason, as the Steelers' T.J. Watt and Bengals' Trey Hendrickson remain unsigned and in search for new contracts, especially after Browns star Myles Garrett inked a four-year, $160 million deal in March that made him the highest paid non-QB in NFL history with an average of $40 million per year.

Those kinds of deals change markets, and ultimately drive-up prices for players like Parsons, Watt and Hendrickson in negotiations. With that in mind, Parsons knows that he'll get his fair share of money regardless, and that the question lies more in how much of the salary cap the Cowboys are wanting to divvy up.

"I'm just going to get mine no matter what…" Parsons said. "The markets change every year. Their salary cap went up another 18% this year. So, if you want to know contracts, all the contracts are based off of percentage."

"Each player, a high-paid player, takes a percentage of the salary cap. So it's not really the number, it goes off by the salary cap."

In the Cowboys' situation, they've already signed Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to massive contract extensions, which will have an impact on not just Parsons' extension, but that of other key players like DaRon Bland, Tyler Smith and Jake Ferguson who will be due for new deals in the near future.

Parsons knows his circumstances are different from the other pass rushers seeking new deals and isn't necessarily looking at how much Myles Garrett got in his deal or how much Watt and Hendrickson may get in theirs. Instead, he understands it's specific to where he is at in his career and where the Cowboys are at from a financial standpoint.

"Their numbers got nothing to do with mine, and my numbers ain't got nothing to do with them…" Parsons said. "I'm younger than [Trey] Hendrickson. I mean, [Aidan] Hutchinson's coming off an injury. Everyone's circumstances is completely different… You know, it's different. Everyone's circumstance is different."

Even without the extension he's seeking, Parsons still made a point to be present during the team's offseason programs and even did some on the field work towards the end of mandatory minicamp. Whether or not he'll be on the practice field in Oxnard without a deal is still a "we'll see" as he continues to wait for a contract that could break records.

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