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The days of Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, who is scheduled to make a fully guaranteed $24.007 million in 2025 on his fifth-year option, considering a hometown discount are over. According to Clarence Hill Jr. from All City DLLS, the Cowboys have offered to make Parsons the NFL's highest-paid non-quarterback. Hill disclosed that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been dealing directly with Parsons instead of the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year's agent, Athletes First's David Mulugheta.
Jones elaborated when asked about the status of Parsons' new contract at the NFL annual meeting on Tuesday. "I know that I've spent five, six hours with him [Parsons] myself and had a lot of discussions. Most of the issues are in agreement, and I've discussed it all," Jones said. "We obviously don't have an agreement relative to a new contract. Micah is under contract. So we'll see how that goes. It's not uncommon for me to visit directly with players, and in this particular case, that's what I'm doing."
Jones added that he doesn't have sense of urgency in getting a deal done with Parsons. "I'd rather pay more and get it right," he said.
Jones unnecessarily created additional contract drama by disparaging Mulugheta. "The agent is not a factor here or something to worry about," Jones said. "And I don't know his name. My point is, I'm not trying to demean him, but this isn't about an agent. … I'm not demeaning the agent. I'm just saying everybody can do this, and that's talk directly to a player."
Facts!! David is the best and I will not be doing any deal without @DavidMulugheta involved! Like anyone with good sense I hired experts for a reason. There is no one I trust more when it comes to negotiating contracts than David! There will be no backdoors in this contract… https://t.co/nxKNSIXLvt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) April 1, 2025
Parsons felt compelled to defend Mulugheta on social media after Jones' comments. "David is the best and I will not be doing any deal without [him]," Parsons tweeted. "Like anyone with good sense I hired experts for a reason. There is no one I trust more when it comes to negotiating contracts than David! There will be no backdoors in this contract negotiation."
Jones has a long history of trying to circumvent agents when negotiating contracts. I have witnessed it firsthand. When I was just getting started in athlete representation, the firm I worked for represented Jimmy Smith. Our expectation was Smith would be taken in the latter part of the first round in the 1992 NFL Draft. Desmond Howard, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner, went fourth overall to the Washington Commanders. The next wide receiver wasn't taken until the Cincinnati Bengals selected Carl Pickens 31st overall, which was the third pick in the second round.
Jones called Smith while the Cowboys were on the clock to tell him he was going to be taken 36th overall, but only if he agreed to a contract before the pick was made. Smith, who was already feeling some anxiety because NFL teams were waiting to draft wide receivers, agreed to Jones' below-market terms. A rookie wage scale with strict financial parameters for each pick of the draft didn't exist in 1992.
My bosses were livid. If Smith had been allowed to consult with us before making a decision, he would have been instructed to call Jones' bluff. My bosses told Jones that his agreement with Smith wasn't binding and wouldn't be honored. A deal appropriate for Smith's draft position was subsequently negotiated.
Parsons' agent has history of strong deals
At this point, Parsons should empower Mulugheta do to his job the way he sees fit. Mulugheta has a history of doing strong deals with good structure. He was able to get quarterback Deshaun Watson an unprecedented fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract in connection with his 2022 trade from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns despite having four years worth $136 million remaining on the contract extension he signed with the Texans in 2020.
Mulugheta made Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. the NFL's highest-paid defensive back last May on a four-year, $84.1 million contract averaging $21.025 million per year. It was the first and only time during the salary cap era, which began in 1994, a safety has been the league's highest-paid defensive back.
More recently, Mulugheta is responsible for the long overdue massive reset of the cornerback market. Derek Stingley Jr. just became the NFL's first $30 million-per-year defensive back on the three-year, $90 million extension with a defensive back record $89,026,026 in guarantees he signed with the Texans a couple of weeks ago. Stingley's $30 million per year is 20% more than the $25 million-per-year extension Jaycee Horn signed with the Carolina Panthers several days earlier, which Mulugheta also negotiated.
Length of contract concerns
The devil is in the details with the highest-paid non-quarterback deal Jones is seemingly willing to do. This is the only basic parameter Mulugheta should carry over from Jones' contract discussions with Parsons to his own negotiations with the Cowboys.
Dallas prefers to sign players to big money contract extensions that are at least five years long. That was the case in 2023 with cornerback Trevon Diggs and offensive tackle Terence Steele. Diggs and Steele signed five-year extensions averaging $19.4 million and $16.5 million per year, respectively.
The reports that Parsons will get eventually get the NFL's first $200 million contract extension for a non-quarterback suggests the length will be five new years. Mulugheta should put a stop to this notion. His focus should be on a four-year extension.
A four-year extension would not only be consistent with the most recent developments at the top of the non-quarterback market, but also the Cowboys. The $34 million-per-year extension Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb signed last August during the latter part of the preseason to tie San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa as the NFL's second-highest paid non-quarterback was for four years. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the NFL's first $60 million-per-year player with his four-year, $240 million extension last September hours before Dallas' regular-season opener.
The Browns made perennial First Team All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett the NFL's first $40 million-per-year non-quarterback in March. The 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed a four-year, $160 million extension with non-quarterback records of $123,596,125 in overall guarantees and $88.8 million fully guaranteed at signing.
Garrett's reign at the top of the NFL's non-quarterback salary hierarchy was short-lived. The Bengals signed wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to a four-year, $161 million extension averaging $40.25 million per year with $112 million of guarantees several days later.
Target contract value
Barely topping Chase's $40.25 million per year shouldn't be the goal. Chase only got 0.63% more than Garrett. The non-quarterback market moved 12.68% with Garrett from the $35.5 million per year Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby had just gotten with his three-year, $106.5 million extension.
Insisting that Parsons' deal approximate the 4.87% average increase the last five times a new highest-paid non-quarterback has been established wouldn't be an unreasonable position for Mulugheta to take. This type of increase over Chase would be slightly under $42.225 million per year.
Another important data point for Mulugheta could be adjusting Bosa's contract for salary cap inflation. The salary cap has increased by 24.2% since Bosa signed. His deal is a little more than $42.225 million per year when factoring in salary cap growth.
Structural considerations
A backloaded contract like Chase or Garrett's flat cash flow should be deal-breakers. Chase has $44.816 million in the 2029, the final year of his extension.
At a minimum, the Cowboys should be willing to mimic Lamb's cash-flow percentages although Prescott's would be preferable. The cash-flow percentages of these four contracts are in the chart below.
| Player/Cash-Flow Percentages | Existing Years (2) | Existing Year (1) | New Year (1st) | New Year (2nd) | New Year (3rd) | New Year (4th) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ja'Marr Chase | N/A | 12.02% | 33.03% | 51.67% | 72.16% | 100% |
Myles Garrett | 3.13% | 7.81% | 34.5% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
CeeDee Lamb | N/A | 15.56% | 36.04% | 55.15% | 76.47% | 100% |
Dak Prescott | N/A | 21.77% | 41.67% | 58.33% | 77.08% | 100% |
Jones is comfortable with record-signing bonuses. Lamb's $38 million signing bonus is the most for a wide receiver. Prescott's $78,453,333 is the biggest signing bonus in NFL history.
The same could be done Parsons since Jones has established this precedent. Bosa's $50 million is the current benchmark for non-quarterbacks. The Cowboys could gain $12.3 million in 2025 cap space with a four-year Parsons extension where he receives a $52.5 million signing bonus that's prorated at $10.5 million annually from 2025 through 2029 and his $24.007 million option year salary is lowered to a $1.207 million 2025 base salary to make his 2025 cap number $11.707 million.
Parsons shouldn't accept less than $90 million fully guaranteed at signing and $125 million in overall guarantees. Another important component is the timing of the guarantees vesting. The third-year salary guarantees in 2027 and any guarantee in the fourth contract year (2028) should operate like Lamb's.
Parsons' 2027 contract year should convert from injury guaranteed to fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year (mid-March 2026). The portion guaranteed for injury in 2028 should become fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2027 league year (mid-March 2027).
Final thoughts
Parsons should fully embrace Jones' "more leaves need to fall" attitude with his contract even if that means holding out of training camp or reporting and holding in where he doesn't practice or has limited participation until signed. The lesson Parsons should have learned from Lamb and Prescott's delayed extensions is by sticking to his guns, he will get more money. Edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and/or T.J. Watt, also in a contract year, could push the non-quarterback market to new heights with respective extensions from the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers at some point before the 2025 regular season begins.
