Skip Bayless is one of the Dallas Cowboys’ most notable fans. He was rooting for Jerry Jones’ franchise long before Micah Parsons arrived on the scene. He also knows Parsons is one of the NFL’s best defenders. But when it comes to Parsons’ potential contract, he’s on Jones’ side.
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Bayless took to YouTube to discuss Parsons’ contract negotiations on Wednesday. He said he expects Jones to, “proudly make his latest grandson, Micah Parsons, the highest-paid defensive player ever.” But, in his opinion, Parsons, “obviously hasn’t remotely earned that kind of money.” He believes that if Parsons gets paid, he won’t live up to his lofty salary.
“What my eye test keeps telling me is that Micah Parsons… [has] turned into just another flashy, overhyped Dallas Cowboy superstar who’s about to be dramatically and comically and painfully and ultimately football-tragically overpaid,” Bayless said.
So, what exactly does Bayless suggest Jones do?
“Jerry Jones should… use the system in place against Micah Parsons to put him back in his place… he should just smile and say, ‘we have a contract with Micah and we expect him to honor that contract.’ Yes, sir. Light a new fire under Micah Parsons by just making him play out the final year of his rookie deal, then… use the franchise tag.”
Franchise tags are one-year, fully guaranteed contracts. They pay out the average of the five highest salaries at someone’s respective position. Dallas designated Parsons a defensive end when they picked up his fifth-year option, so he’d theoretically receive the tag for defensive ends in 2026 if Jones went that route. The 2025 franchise tag salary for defensive ends is $22 million, per Spotrac.
Skip Bayless “doesn’t see the intangibles” with Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons is the only player in NFL history to record 12-plus sacks and make the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons. The 2024 campaign was his worst as a professional — he missed four games due to injury — and he still reached 12 sacks. On top of that, he had 12 tackles for loss. Statistically, Parsons has as good a case as any to be the league’s highest-paid defensive player.
Bayless, though, isn’t primarily concerned about Parsons’ on-field production. He’s focused on the value he provides Dallas’ locker room. To him, Parsons falls well short in that respect.
“Micah doesn’t have the added value of being a team leader. He’s just not that. He’s at least as interested in doing that weekly podcast of his as he is winning and making himself the best football player he can be,” Bayless said. “[And] he’s not a speech-maker [or] tone-setter… I’m sorry. I just don’t see it. I don’t see the intangibles and I don’t see enough of the tangibles.”
As much as we’d like every superstar player to be a great leader, some of them aren’t. That’s okay. And Bayless can question Parsons’ leadership all he wants. Despite this, nobody on the Cowboys’ roster was more adamant about making the playoffs without Dak Prescott than him. Unless that was purely public fodder and he acted differently behind the scenes, that’s an example of Parsons being a leader.
Sure, Parsons is probably not the leader Tom Brady was. Nobody else in the world is. That doesn’t mean his play isn’t deserving of a big contract. And these days, for better or worse, the next man up becomes the highest-paid player. Jones delayed the inevitable with Prescott and CeeDee Lamb; he shouldn’t with Parsons.
