Micah Parsons officially wants out of Dallas.
After a report Friday morning detailed Parsons’ “deteriorating” relationship with the Cowboys, the star pass-rusher posted a lengthy statement revealing that he “no longer wants to be here” with the organization that drafted him and requested a trade.
Thank you Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
Whether the Cowboys will grant Parsons’ wish is another story. Dallas doesn’t plan to trade Parsons, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, but the bridge has clearly been burned to some degree between the franchise and its defensive anchor.
Here’s a complete timeline of how the relationship between Parsons and the Cowboys broke down and resulted in a trade request.
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Micah Parsons contract dispute timeline
Parsons first became eligible for a contract extension after the 2023 season, but the 2024 offseason went by quietly without a new deal for the former All-Pro.
Parsons first put pressure on the Cowboys in February 2024, arguing that his price tag would only get more expensive over time if the team didn’t act quickly.
“If they call my number and say, ‘Hey, we ready,’ we’re ready, but if not, I’m going to put another Pro Bowl year,” Parsons told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
That’s exactly what Parsons did. He registered 12 sacks and earned a fourth Pro Bowl selection even after missing about a month with an ankle injury. Then, when Myles Garrett signed an extension for the Browns for $40 million per year, Parsons’ price tag moved even higher, considering he’s looking to be the NFL’s highest-paid defender.
Parsons and the Cowboys nearly agreed to an extension in the spring of 2025, when the 26-year-old and Jerry Jones negotiated a deal personally, but talks broke down when Dallas refused to engage with Parsons’ agent, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
MORE: Top landing spots for Micah Parsons after trade request
Parsons reported to mandatory minicamp in June after skipping OTAs, and he also reported to training camp without participating in practices — likely a “hold in” for the Cowboys star, though he cites his absence as being related to a back issue.
When he arrived, Parsons reiterated to reporters that he wanted to play for the Cowboys but said he showed up to camp for his teammates, not for owner Jerry Jones.
Meanwhile, Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones told reporters that Parsons has to “want to be paid,” indicating that he didn’t believe Parsons’ team was attempting to negotiate in good faith.
“We want to pay Micah, too,” Jones said. “He’s gotta want to be paid.”
As Jerry Jones addressed fans at the Cowboys’ practice on July 26, fans made their demands clear, chanting, “Pay Micah!”
Fans yell “Pay Micah!” as Jerry Jones addresses the crowd pic.twitter.com/PmKFTua9J7
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 26, 2025
The saga came to a head on Friday, when Parsons released a lengthy statement revealing he submitted a formal trade request to Stephen Jones.
“I no longer want to be here,” Parsons said, accusing the Cowboys of “taking shots” at him for missing time with an injury in 2024 and creating “narratives” about him. Many of Parsons’ teammates came to his defense, with WR CeeDee Lamb — whose contract negotiations were also an ordeal — tweeting, “Just pay the man.”
In response, Jones told Cowboys fans “don’t lose any sleep,” seeming to imply that he has no interest in trading Parsons.
MORE: How Cowboys’ stubbornness is threatening relationship with Micah Parsons
Jerry Jones vs. Micah Parsons comments
Until Aug. 1, Parsons and Jones had largely been cordial with each other when speaking publicly, but Jones started to take some veiled shots at the 26-year-old in July.
When a report in December 2024 indicated the Cowboys considered the idea of trading Parsons, Jones was defiant, telling reporters that the idea of trading Parsons had “never been uttered in this organization.”
Parsons reported to training camp in July after reporting for mandatory minicamp in June, but he made it clear that he showed up to support his teammates. “This isn’t for Jerry,” he told reporters.
At nearly the same time, Jones indicated that Parsons’ absence for a portion of the 2024 season was a sticking point for the team. “Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re going to have him,” Jones said. “He was hurt six games last year. Seriously. I remember signing a player for the highest-paid at the position in the league, and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year: Dak Prescott.” Parsons missed four games with an ankle injury in 2024.
Days later, Jones called out Parsons for refusing to participate in practice.
“He’s getting paid. He gets about 20-some million right now,” Jones told reporters. “And that’s a pretty easy $20 million standing there watching practice out there at the same time.”
Parsons is set to make $24 million on his fifth-year option in 2025.
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Will Cowboys trade Micah Parsons?
The Cowboys don’t appear to be willing to appease Parsons — not yet, at least. Dallas has “no intention” of trading Parsons, according to The Athletic.
The Dallas Cowboys have no intention of trading Micah Parsons, per sources.
Still, teams around the league are planning to reach out to check on his availability today.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 1, 2025
Still, the Cowboys opted against publicly commenting on Parsons’ trade request.
The Cowboys will not have a response to Micah Parsons’ trade request, according to team spokesman.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 1, 2025
The Cowboys have taken contract negotiations down to the wire in training camp before. Ezekiel Elliott didn’t sign his second contract with Dallas until the team was just days out from its season opener in 2019, while CeeDee Lamb held out until striking a deal in late August a year ago. Dak Prescott also signed his most recent extension on the morning of the Cowboys’ season opener in 2024, though he did not hold out for a new deal.
Those timelines indicate the Cowboys could still work out a deal with Parsons, but it’s clear a bridge has been burned in a way that it wasn’t when Elliott and Lamb — who both held out but never requested a trade — were seeking new deals.
Micah Parsons contract projection
Reports all along have indicated Parsons is aiming to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. After a recent three-year, $123 million extension for Steelers star T.J. Watt, that means his new deal would have to exceed $41 million per year.
Over four years, a hypothetical $42 million annual salary would come out to a four-year, $168 million deal. $42 million annually over five years would amount to $210 million, which would exceed Nick Bosa’s defensive record of $170 million on the five-year deal he signed in 2023.
Guaranteed money could also be a sticking point for the Cowboys. Garrett’s deal is 77 percent guaranteed, while Watt’s deal is 88 percent guaranteed but spans one fewer year.
