The first week of the preseason has passed, and Micah Parsons still has no deal with the Dallas Cowboys for his contract extension. The standoff between the edge rusher and the franchise has dragged on longer than it should, and at this point, everything feels uncertain, with even a season-long holdout being considered.
The biggest question remains among the many issues surrounding this situation: why are the Cowboys refusing to pay their best player? A former NFL quarterback and current analyst shared his take on the matter, suggesting in a bold statement that maybe the two sides simply do not like each other and are not interested in making it work.
Why Hasn’t the Micah Parsons Contract Situation Been Resolved Yet?
When Parsons revealed he had made his first attempt at a contract extension with the Cowboys at the end of the 2023 season, it was unthinkable that the two sides could reach the final year of his deal at an impasse. In his early career, Parsons established himself as an elite edge rusher that any team would want on its roster.
We reached 2025 with an extension seemingly imminent during the offseason, but reality turned out differently. Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby, and T.J. Watt signed new contracts, with Garrett and Watt surpassing the $40 million annual mark for the position and putting even more pressure on Dallas to strike a new deal with Parsons.
Among the many theories as to why no agreement has been reached, Dan Orlovsky offered an unusual perspective on the matter. What if the franchise and the player no longer like each other?
“I don’t think they like each other.”
—@danorlovsky7 on Micah Parsons and the Cowboys pic.twitter.com/tfzmExZCrL
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 11, 2025
“I don’t think they like him. I don’t think they like each other,” Orlovsky said. “A lot of that money stuff gets personal. There’s something that feels like he doesn’t like them, they don’t like him. And it’s a personal dislike that isn’t attached to just money.”
If that is the case, it would back up what Parsons said at the end of his statement announcing the trade request, in which he revealed he no longer wants to play for the Cowboys. While trade requests are common and often used as leverage in contract disputes, such a statement is rarely seen.
The relationship may be beyond repair, and at this point, not even a $42 million-per-year deal might fix it. The real issue is that trading Parsons is nearly impossible, as the cost of a player of his caliber scares off even the most interested teams, especially when the deal would require both a trade and a contract extension.
If he does leave the franchise, Parsons could be part of one of the biggest trades of the modern NFL era.
