Holdouts have become a regular feature of the modern NFL. While owners still control most of the power—and take home the largest share of the revenue—players are becoming increasingly aware of their value within the system. As the league’s revenue continues to soar, so does the salary cap, giving players more leverage to demand bigger contracts. But front offices are often reluctant to meet those demands, leading players to take matters into their own hands.
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To secure the deals they believe they deserve, many players are now willing to sit out parts of training camp, and in some cases, even regular-season games. They’re not deterred by fines or missed paychecks, especially if they know they’re vital to the team’s success. The thinking is simple: the franchise will eventually cave and pay up.
This season is no different. Washington’s Terry McLaurin, Dallas’ Micah Parsons, and Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson are all currently holding out for better contracts, increasing the pressure on their respective teams as final training camps ramp up ahead of the preseason.
On a recent episode of Chris Simms Unbuttoned, Simms weighed in on the current wave of NFL holdouts, acknowledging that while players see them as necessary, they do serve as a distraction, especially when star players are involved. Their absence during training camp puts added pressure on the coaching staff and unsettles the locker room dynamic.
Even though individual player routines and preparation may continue as usual, the overall team morale takes a hit. A holdout can quietly sow doubt among teammates, raising questions about whether the missing star, once back, will truly be all-in. It also becomes a distraction for teammates when media and fans constantly bombard them with questions about the holdout, pressing for updates or insights they simply don’t have.
” That is a real thing. If it’s a middle-of-the-road player, maybe it doesn’t have the same effect on the locker room. When it’s your best player, the best player in the league at his position, it becomes a distraction. It affects your football in more ways than you think. Distraction itself is not going to deter players on day-to-day basis. It just gets exhausting for the players. You go out there to sign autographs. Every other person that you sign autographs for asks , hey do you think Micah is gonna get signed soon? You just get sick answering those type of questions.”
Chris Simms believes that while this is a growing issue across the NFL, it’s particularly amplified in Dallas. The Cowboys, under Jerry Jones, have developed a reputation for dragging out contract negotiations with their best players. He did it with Dak Prescott, delayed CeeDee Lamb’s deal last year, let DeMarco Murray walk nearly a decade ago, and even had Emmitt Smith miss games early in a season back in the ’90s.
According to Simms, this pattern of playing the waiting game has cost the Cowboys millions over time. Those losses have had ripple effects, hurting their ability to retain key talent and compete in free agency. In fact, Dallas hasn’t made any major signings in free agency in the past three years and continues to lose more than it gains.
As a result, the Cowboys often end up with a top-heavy roster, filled with stars but lacking depth. And that’s one of the biggest reasons they’ve fallen short of building a true Super Bowl-contending roster. Had they paid Micah Parsons last season, it would have cost them only $35-$36 million. But now, there is no way he would accept anything less than $42 million.
