The Dallas Cowboys have a problem. It has nothing to do with their rebuilt offensive line, Dak Prescott’s return from a hamstring injury, or anything with Matt Eberflus’s defense. It has everything to do with the Cowboys' tendency to drag contract negotiations with their star players out until the last minute and paying absolute top dollar for every player that needs to be rewarded.
Prescott and CeeDee Lamb experienced the teeth-pulling process that is negotiating a contract with Jerry Jones, and now it’s Micah Parsons’s turn. The star edge rusher recently lamented the fact his deal didn’t get done before Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns or Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, knowing they could use the savings to build a roster around him. But the Cowboys don’t play by those rules, and screwed themselves over again with the latest big contract in the NFL.
T.J. Watt’s Contract Extension Means the Cowboys Will Pay Even More to Keep Micah Parsons
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to a three-year, $123 million contract with star edge rusher T.J. Watt. Schefter adds that Watt becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback as part of the deal, and it includes $108 million fully guaranteed at signing with an average annual value of $41 million.
ESPN sources: Steelers star TJ Watt has become the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history for the second time in his illustrious career, reaching agreement today on a three-year, $123 million extension that includes $108M fully guaranteed at signing. The $41 million per year average… pic.twitter.com/si6V7FUdlp
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025
When Jones wakes up from his nap, he should be furious. The Cowboys have dragged their feet to the point where they once again will pay top dollar for one of their premier players. While this approach probably lets the Cowboys know exactly how much they need to pay to make each player the top-paid player at their position and avoid any hangups down the road, it also screws themselves out of building a complete football team.
X user Dan Rogers noted earlier this week that the Cowboys have drafted 10 All-Pro players in the first round of the draft over the last 15 years, and their 67% hit rate on All-Pros leads the NFL. While this seems like a great stat, the Cowboys haven’t advanced to a conference championship game since 1996, in large part because they don’t have the money to add around them.
Think if the Cowboys signed Parsons at the beginning of the offseason. If he got a contract around the $40 million mark like Garrett got from the Browns, he probably would have had an “Awe, shucks,” moment. But he would probably get over it if Dallas added a free agent that could help the team.
The Cowboys are already doing this with George Pickens as well. While he currently isn’t worth a top-of-the-market contract, he could vault himself into that discussion with a strong year. That would likely mean a contract somewhere in the neighborhood of Tee Higgins’s four-year, $115 million extension with the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this offseason and Garrett Wilson’s four-year, $130 million contract with the New York Jets that was signed this week.
It may not be of an immediate concern, as Dallas has $32.1 million in cap space this upcoming season and could have more as moves are made next spring. But it also places an importance on finding cheap talent that outperforms its contract.
The Cowboys were able to reap those benefits with Prescott, Lamb, and Parsons. But with all three making huge money, Dallas’s success depends on mining a stud in the fourth round or finding a reclamation project that a previous team didn’t want.
It’s enough to make Parsons and Cowboys fans shake their heads and hope a new contract is done soon.