As the 2025 NFL season nears, the Dallas Cowboys remain locked in a contract standoff with Micah Parsons, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal.
Reasonable logic points toward Parsons becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. However, the Cowboys appear to be holding firm with a number they feel more comfortable with.
With neither side willing to budge, a former Super Bowl winner and current NFL analyst is taking the side of the All-Pro edge rusher over the Cowboys.
Ryan Clark Lays Into Cowboys Over Drama With Micah Parsons
Former NFL safety Ryan Clark, who won the Super Bowl while playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, ripped the Cowboys for their public comments regarding the ongoing stalemate with Parsons.
“Why do you want to poke the bear?” Clark said on ESPN’s “Get UP.” “He is the best player on your team when you take out position. He is one of the best players at his position, on his side of the football, in all of the world. And you’re going to pay him. So why do this publicy, to get one of your best players and one of your locker room leaders to feel that you don’t want him, you don’t respect him, and you don’t value him? It’s not good football, and it’s certainly not good business.”
.@Realrclark25 weighs in on the Cowboys’ situation with Micah Parsons.
“Why do you want to poke the bear? … You’re going to pay him, so why do this publicly? … It’s not good football, and it’s certainly not good business.” pic.twitter.com/dIUfpqqLOk
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 29, 2025
Earlier in the week, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, the son of team owner Jerry Jones, jokingly referenced chants by Cowboys fans at Training Camp to pay Parsons and said they were far weaker than the similar chants from last season’s Training Camp about CeeDee Lamb.
“I heard it light, but not compared to how I heard them say, ‘Pay Lamb [last year],'” Jones said. “That was a faint little sound compared to the way they were hollering last year, ‘Pay Lamb.’ … Whoever’s not in, you can count on a few hollering that. But it was a big loud chant last year on Lamb.”
Parsons isn’t the only star defensive player currently embroiled in a standoff over a new contract with his respective club. Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals is also entering the final season of his contract and is going through a similar situation.
So far during his four years in the NFL with the Cowboys, Micah Parsons has established himself as one of the best defensive players with 52.5 sacks, 256 tackles, and nine forced fumbles. He’s also earned four Pro Bowl nominations and has been named to the All-Pro First Team twice.
