Ian Rapoport makes bold Micah Parsons contract prediction, ‘…he’s got to go last’

Ian Rapoport predicts Micah Parsons contract amount, anticipates long holdout

Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, Rapoport gave his long-held view on the situation between Parsons and the team.

“For Micah Parsons, everyone seems to be waiting. I’ve always thought Micah should be the highest-paid non-quarterback. If that’s the case, he’s got to go last,” said Rapoport, seemingly predicting a long holdout.

“He’s very smart, and very savvy, and probably as well-versed as anyone his age business wise. He and his agent know, if you go last, you get the most. So I don’t know if it’ll be scrambling like it was with Dak [Prescott] before kickoff a few years ago, or maybe Aidan Hutchinson gets his deal, and then Micah goes,” he continued.

To set the non-quarterback market, Micah Parsons would have to overhaul the deal signed by his pass-rushing contemporary TJ Watt with the Pittsburgh Steelers recently, which was a three-year, $123m pact, or $41m annually. Both Myles Garrett and Ja’Marr Chase also broke the $40 million barrier in their last deals, so that likely shows where Parsons could land.

However, Parsons is also four years younger than Watt, and, following Jones’ comments, likely to be looking for an even bigger premium to put pen to paper. Is it possible Parsons is looking for $45-50m per year from the Cowboys, which, while expensive, would tie him up with the team for his peak years?

The one issue Micah Parsons has in contract discussions

The biggest problem for Micah Parsons, however, is leverage. He has none, having elected to report for training camp. While he isn’t participating in practices (also known as a ‘hold-in’), he is still there, which vastly reduces anyone’s need to get a deal done. He’s now unable to stay away from the team during the season, and cannot put the team in a position where they need to trade him.

The one advantage he does have is that it ensures his contract will expire at season’s end, but Dallas still controls in some way the player’s destiny, given that they’ll be able to keep him around via the franchise tag. That would set up another offseason of recriminations, however, so perhaps both sides will avoid this.

It’s something of a double-edged sword for Parsons, however, as not practicing is likely to put him behind the eight-ball in the season, as has happened to other high-profile holdouts like Le’Veon Bell in the past. The likelihood is still that some common ground is found between Parsons and the team — frankly, the Dallas Cowboys, in their first season under Brian Schottenheimer, have too much to lose not to do so — but what version of Parsons they will get remains a mystery. All sides would benefit from a quick resolution, but much like with Trey Hendrickson (whose eventual deal may end up informing Parsons’ as well), it doesn’t look like it’ll reach that point any time soon.