Among the Cowboys players awaiting a big decision from the club this offseason is Micah Parsons.
The linebacker/edge rusher isn’t going anywhere (except in the most wildly radical of what-if hypotheticals), but the former first-round draft pick is now entering the fourth year of his rookie deal. The decision for the front office is whether to exercise a fifth-year option on him to lock him in through 2025.
They almost certainly will. And with the 2024 salary cap set, the Cowboys know how much a fifth year of paying for Parsons’s services will cost them.
Several factors go into the calculation. Parsons’s three original-ballot selections to the Pro Bowl translate to a salary equal to that of a franchise tender at the position in question. That means Parsons stands to make $24.007 million in 2025 once the Cowboys elect to exercise his option.
Talk of a Parsons extension is expected to be a hot topic this offseason, although the team does have several other big-money deals to work on, too. It’s widely thought he’ll end up being the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history with his next contract, and his price tag will only go higher the longer the Dallas front office waits as they take care of other business.
Wideout CeeDee Lamb saw his fifth-year option exercised last offseason. The two sides were unable to work out a longer extension prior to the 2023 campaign. Lamb had a record-setting season, and now a new deal that will likely reset the receiver market is a priority in Dallas.
Expect the Cowboys to similarly pick up Parsons’s option and continue to work toward a longer-term deal.
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The Cowboys, technically speaking, could also pick up the fifth-year option on quarterback Trey Lance, who was also a first-round pick- by the 49ers- in that same 2021 draft and has a rookie deal entering its fourth season. But while the third-stringer may remain an intriguing project for the team, he hasn’t done nearly enough to warrant a $22.408 million fifth-year salary.
Teams have until May 2 to exercise their fifth-year options on 2021 first-rounders.
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