In 2025, Micah Parsons will earn almost six times what he had averaged over his first four seasons in the NFL. Still, the Dallas Cowboys star is locked in a drawn-out contract dispute with the team, having been made to wait for a new contract. Parsons has one year remaining on his rookie deal and could opt to hit free agency in 2026 if the team doesn’t make him an agreeable offer.
Speaking to the press during the team’s OTAs, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed that he hadn’t seen Parsons at the facility. The situation doesn’t seem to have caused any hostility between the player and his coach, though, as Schottenheimer also noted that the pair had recently met for lunch.
Micah Parsons Absent from OTAs, Travelling in Europe
Schottenheimer has brought a lot of positive energy to the Cowboys since his hiring and has set his sights on making improvements across the board in Dallas. Nevertheless, it would have been remiss of reporters not to ask about Parsons, given his ongoing contract situation.
The 2025 offseason has been a big one for pass-rushers’ contracts, with Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby getting massive new deals. That has led to some of the league’s best avoiding team activities while they wait for their extensions. T.J. Watt and Trey Hendrickson are in similar situations to Parsons and are all free agents next year.
Schottenheimer revealed that he hadn’t seen Parsons all week but noted that he’d recently bumped into the player at the airport and that he believed Parsons was currently on vacation.
“He was here last week. [I] had lunch with him. [I] actually bumped into him at the airport; he was gonna do some travelling, so I’ve not seen him yet this week.”
For anyone wondering, it looks like #Cowboys Micah Parsons is in Spain.
(Again, all voluntary workouts, Micah was there at the start of OTAs, and he’s had success working in his routine since joining the NFL).
Just context for note keeping.
(📸: @ treylens on IG) https://t.co/UpwXcnv5YI pic.twitter.com/leSITDMTBh
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) May 29, 2025
Dallas Cowboys writer Brandon Loree then posted pictures, taken from Instagram, of Parsons in Ibiza, Spain.
Some have questioned Parsons’ leadership, with the player expected to take on a more senior role on the team this year. But with Watt and Hendrickson also currently skipping OTAs, it’s par for the course. The best players in the league earn the most money. The Cowboys need to figure out where their priorities lie.