One would think the Dallas Cowboys would have got ahead of the game in terms of extending their star players. All of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are up for new deals. It’s a messy situation and the Cowboys’ failure to extend great young players before their rookie contracts expire is to blame.
In a perfect world, the Cowboys would extend Parsons this offseason, a year before his fifth-year option kicks in next season. With Prescott and Lamb both entering the final year of their contracts, though, it’s highly possible that Parsons’ negotiations are put off until after the 2024 season.
That’s bad news for Jerry Jones, who has seemingly initiated the process of reducing Parsons’ value through the media. While 49ers star Nick Bosa reset the EDGE market in September, Parsons’ price will continue to soar as more marquee pass rushers ink extensions.
Sure enough, the ascending Josh Allen just got a bag from the Jaguars. Per reports, Allen signed a five-year $150 million contract, including $88 million guaranteed.
Jaguars, LB Josh Allen agree to terms on a 5-year, $150M deal that includes $88M in guarantees. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/RfiWOjOFdc
— NFL (@NFL) April 10, 2024
Cowboys’ Micah Parsons just became more expensive after Josh Allen’s contract extension
Allen’s $30 million annual salary makes him the second-highest paid edge rusher in the game behind Bosa. Sacks don’t tell the whole story of a pass rusher’s value — Parsons is living proof of that — but 2023 marked Allen’s first season with double digit sacks (17.5) since his rookie year in 2019.
Despite joining the league two years after Allen was drafted, Parsons almost has more career sacks (40.5) than Allen (45). While Allen has accumulated the sixth-most pressures in the NFL and is tied for 10th with 32 sacks over the last three seasons, Parsons is second in pressures and fourth in sacks.
Furthermore, Allen was also nowhere to be found in terms of the top 20 pass-rush win rates in 2023. Parsons placed first at 35% despite drawing more double teams than any edge rusher, per ESPN analytics.
Comparing Parsons and Allen as players in unfair to the Jaguars star, but that’s the lesson to be learned by his contract. If Allen is worth $30 million per year, Parsons might command close to $40 million in negotiations, which probably won’t start until 2025 thanks to Dallas waiting until the last-minute to get Prescott and Lamb’s contracts sorted.
Jerry Jones is somewhere shuddering right now. Try as he might to diminish Parsons’ value through the media, the all-world defender is going to take the Cowboys owner to the cleaners.
