Micah Parsons is the best defensive player in the NFL. He’s arguably the most valuable non-quarterback in the game. He’s eligible for a second contract, and he deserves one.
Now that the Cowboys have finally gotten both receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott signed to new contracts, Parsons is up next. But that next contract apparently isn’t coming soon.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Parsons is content to wait until after the season to negotiate a new contract.
While, on one hand, the delay will benefit him because the numbers only go up, he’s selling himself very short by playing in 2024 for less than $3 million. That’s why teams love squatting on the first-round contracts of great players until after the fourth year of the contract has ended. It’s very cheap to keep the player in that fourth season.
It could be very costly for Parsons, if he’s injured this year. And his position carries a much greater risk of injury than quarterback or receiver.
Yes, Parsons will have insurance. If a career-ending injury happens, it’s not very difficult to collect. The harder prospect comes from attempting to secure insurance against an injury that doesn’t end a career but changes it, dramatically.
“Loss of value” policies are available. But they’re usually more expensive than policies for career-ending injuries. And insurance companies — whose very existences rely on bringing as much money as possible in and paying out as little as possible in claims — often make it much more difficult to cash in when the impact on the playing career is far more nebulous.
The best way for Parsons to cash in would have been to take a stand. Yes, he should have held out. It was his prerogative not to. It’s also his prerogative to wait.
And it’s our prerogative to say he shouldn’t. Even if he gets a higher APY next year, he will have given the Cowboys his fourth NFL season for $3 million.
Micah Parsons should not be playing pro football this season for less than $3 million.