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The Dallas Cowboys have stirred up their fanbase over the last coupe of weeks. Really, it’s been a chaotic two months since the Cowboys were ran over and through by the Green Bay Packers. There’s not a lot to be confident in with head coach Mike McCarthy and his entire staff coaching on one-year deals. The quarterback and wideout combo who both finished in the top-five for offensive player of the year, Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, are both currently on the final year of their contracts as well.
Though those latter two might change at any minute, it certainly feels like Jerry Jones’ all-in decree was more about “do it or else“. And if that’s true, and long-term investments aren’t assured for anyone, some sense of calm appears to be hovering over the defense. Trevon Diggs already got his bag, but Micah Parsons is now eligible for extensions. That includes, as a former first round pick, being eligible for the fifth-year option.
According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Parsons is going to soon be slapped with the team option that will secure his services for 2024.
But there’s a bit of a twist.
Despite the fact that Parsons plays the large majority of his snaps on the defensive line the last two seasons, Parsons has remained with the linebacker label. And it’s not by chance, the club chooses how to classify each player every season. Traditionally, off-ball linebackers get paid less than edge rushers.
But the Cowboys are using the NFL’s inability (or unwillingness) to reclassify defensive positions to mirror the reality of the roles to their advantage.
3-4 edge rushers are technically linebackers, and because the league’s top-paid edge players are predominantly 34 OLBs like TJ Wat and Nick Bosa, the franchise tag amount for LB is currently higher than it is for defensive ends.
The fifth-year option amounts for players with two or more Pro Bowl appearances is based on the current year tag amounts for the position where the player spends the most time.
So what have the Cowboys done? They were able to use the less expensive defensive end amount.
Instead of Parsons’ option costing Dallas $24 million as a linebacker, the option is “only” $21.3 million.
Remember, teams have to put guaranteed money in escrow so while a player might not see it when the contract is forged, the team has to produce the cash and tuck it away out of their investment control.
And while it seems a foregone conclusion that the two sides will reach a long-term agreement before the 2025 season actually starts, this is not an insignificant difference.
NFL agents love to use forced guarantees when negotiating the guaranteed money in the deals with their top stars. Star players will often use the two-year tag amounts as the basis for what they will accept as the guarantee money in a long-term deal.
After all, a team that truly wants to keep a player beyond their contract can do so by using the franchise tag one year, then a second year that costs them 120% of the prior year.
With the fifth-year option being guaranteed, that amount is assuredly going to be involved with any long-term negotiation between the Cowboys and Parsons agent.