The Pittsburgh Steelers’ new three-year, $123 million extension with T.J. Watt just made life harder for the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons.
Watt’s deal set the market at $41 million annually, while locking in a third-year guarantee as the precedent for what the top pass rushers should get. That means Parsons could push the number up even further, towards $45 million, to reset the market.On Tuesday, after his camp, Parsons said he was paying no mind to the rest of the edge rushers. He is expected to report to Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, but is not expected to participate in team workouts. It will turn into a hold-in.

“No, because they numbers got nothing to do with mine, and my numbers ain’t got nothing to do with them. Like, I’m younger than Hendrickson. I mean, Hutchinson’s coming off an injury. Everyone’s circumstances is completely different. Hutch is coming off his third year. Usually guys wait four years. So, it just all depends, Watt. I mean, he’s up there with Myles (Garrett). So, you know, it’s different. Everyone’s circumstance is different,” Parsons said.
Parsons said that he did not even change his calculations after Myles Garrett reset the market in March, landing a $40 million per year deal with the Browns.
“Not really, because I’m just going to get mine no matter what,” Parsons said about Garrett’s contract affecting his market. “You know what I mean? Like, the markets change every year. Their salary cap went up, like, another 18% this year. So, if you want to know contracts, all the contracts are based off of percentage. Like, each player, a high-paid player, takes a percentage of the salary cap. So, it’s not really the number. It goes off by the salary cap.”
As for the Cowboys and Parsons, they have continued talks. Parsons noted that he would have liked to sign a deal last year, which would have given the Cowboys a hometown discount; however, the Cowboys never approached Parsons or his agent, David Mulugheta, regarding the deal.