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Why Cowboys legend thinks Micah Parsons shouldn't 'stress' amid contract standoff
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Why Cowboys legend thinks Micah Parsons shouldn't 'stress' amid contract standoff

During the broadcast of the "Monday Night Football" preseason game between the Washington Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals, ESPN commentator and Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman discussed the ongoing contract standoff involving the Cowboys and star pass-rusher Micah Parsons.

Aikman seems to believe Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones will eventually make Parsons happy before Dallas opens the regular season with a prime-time matchup at the rival Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, Sept. 4. 

"Without Micah Parsons, I just don’t think they’re gonna be able to slow anybody down," Aikman said about the Cowboys, as shared by Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated. "He’s a total game-wrecker, and he’s proven that, and he’s certainly worth every penny that he’s ultimately gonna get paid. The longer it goes, the more money he’s going to make, so I wouldn’t stress too much if I was him."

Parsons is under contract through the 2025 season and went public with a trade request on Aug. 1 after Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers reset the market for players at the position. Garrett received a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed back in March. Watt inked a three-year, $123M extension that included $108M guaranteed ahead of training camp.

Parsons likely will become the new highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history when he signs his deal. 

"Jerry has shown that he’ll pay top dollar," Aikman continued. "This obviously could have been done sooner at a lower price. …They’ll get something done is what I expect. I’d be shocked if they don’t prior to the season."

Last summer, Jones locked wide receiver CeeDee Lamb down via a four-year, $136M agreement. Jones later handed quarterback Dak Prescott a four-year extension reportedly worth $240M with $231M guaranteed.

"I do think the Cowboys are gonna be better than what a lot of people project," Aikman added. "I saw something where the pundits think that the over/under is 7.5 wins on the Cowboys. I think they’re gonna be much better than that."

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Cowboys at +170 betting odds to make the playoffs. As much as Jones seems to care about the Cowboys "being looked at" by media outlets, there's no indication he's interested in starting a roster rebuild by trading Parsons for future draft assets this summer. 

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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