Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Cowboys make questionable move amid Micah Parsons stalemate

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 12:50 PM ET

The Dallas Cowboys extended one of their stars Sunday, just not the one fans wanted them to pay.

At Cowboys training camp Saturday, Dallas fans serenaded owner Jerry Jones with "Pay Micah [Parsons]" chants. The EDGE, of course, is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract this season.

Jones must not have been listening. He gave tight end Jake Ferguson a new contract instead. Dallas and the 26-year-old pass-catcher agreed to a four-year, $52M contract extension, via NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. This move seems head-scratching.

Cowboys, TE Jake Ferguson agree to 4-year, $52M extension. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/Y5LJcRvHb4
— NFL (@NFL) July 27, 2025

Parsons has won the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned two first-team All-Pro nods since the Cowboys took him with pick No. 12 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old EDGE also finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Ferguson, meanwhile, is solid but not elite. In three seasons with the Cowboys, the 2022 fourth-round pick has made one Pro Bowl and has never finished with more than 761 receiving yards in a season.

An extension for Parsons will devour future cap space. The Cowboys may be worried about that after giving quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240M) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M) long-term deals in 2024.

Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt signed a lucrative three-year, $123M extension on July 17, making him the league's highest-paid non-QB. Parsons could command a similar contract.

If cap space is Dallas' primary concern, however, why would it extend Ferguson? He's now set to be the NFL's seventh-highest-paid TE.

The Cowboys waited to extend Lamb and Prescott just before the start of the 2024 season. They may be doing the same with Parsons.

The star defender has said, "Ownership is always gonna make [contract negotiations] drag out."

Regardless, the Cowboys should've paid Parsons before Ferguson. That's a much bigger priority for the team.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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