Jerry Jones hints at potential number for Micah Parsons contract

Jerry Jones offered a slight hint at a potential contract number for Micah Parsons.

The contract negotiations between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons have come to a complete standstill entering the third week of training camp. Many fans and media members hoped that by this point, the franchise superstar would have his contract finalized and be back on the field, putting an end to the summer distractions.

Instead, Parsons has taken an extreme stance and publicly posted on Twitter (X) that he no longer wants to be a member of the Cowboys organization and sent a trade request specifically to Stephen Jones. Not ideal.

Speaking with the media for the first time since the request, owner and general manager Jerry Jones brushed off the request and still expects Parsons to be with the team for a long time. There has not been much conversation about what the hold up is or figures surrounding the deal, but Jones may have slipped and hinted at a ballpark number for a Parsons extension.

Jones mentions that negotiations that involve guaranteeing someone almost $200 million is highly sensitive. That’s a lot of money. Is this actually a number that’s been discussed from the original conversations between Parsons and Jones back in March?

$200 million is a number we have not heard before. David Mulugheta, of Athletes First, is always finding someway to get his players top of the market or record setting contracts. See the contracts he’s worked on with Deshaun Watson, Jalen Ramsey and Jordan Love.

Looking at the edge rushers, the current leader in full guarantees is Myles Garrett with $123 million. If Parsons is remotely close to the number Jones spoke of, that not only blows the edge rusher guarantees out of the water, but is flirting with the money quarterbacks make in the NFL. For reference, here is the top six at the quarterback position in total guaranteed money.

1. Josh Allen — $250 million
2. Deshaun Watson — $230 million
3. Dak Prescott — $229 million
4. Joe Burrow — $219 million
5. Patrick Mahomes — $208.1 million
6. Trevor Lawrence — $200 million

There’s no question Parsons is deserving of a record-setting contract given all he’s accomplished up to this point in his career and where he’s projected to grow over the next few years. The Cowboys path to the playoffs would be so much more difficult sans Parsons.

Is the delay in giving Parsons $200 million in fully guaranteed money due to the front office trying to negotiate that amount down? Or is the issue related to the number of years in the contract, which is often a hurdle for the Cowboys when working out extensions? Parsons has already stated that he doesn’t intend to miss any games, but if the situation isn’t resolved before the season starts, could his stance change? This unique negotiation is bound to have an equally entertaining ending.