Former Penn State football linebacker and current Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons earned the support from Dallas fans on Saturday, July 26. Franchise owner Jerry Jones has yet to extend Parsons' contract after the 2025-26 season and, as a result, led the defenseman to attend but not participate in training camp.
Parsons is expected to the highest paid non-quarterback in the league, and yet Jones is holding out. As he walked by fans during camp, they shouted, according to The Athletic's Jon Machota, "When are you gonna sign Parsons?" and "Pay Micah!"
They started up again once Jones took the stage to address the crowd.
Fans yell “Pay Micah!” as Jerry Jones addresses the crowd pic.twitter.com/PmKFTua9J7
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 26, 2025
Parsons said he isn't sure why things are taking so long and that there's hasn't been much progress with the extension.
"Honestly yeah," the defenseman said when asked if he's discouraged by the holdout. "When we go around the league and you see these other teams taking care of their best guys -- I've seen TJ [Watt] got taken care of, Maxx [Crosby] got taken care of, Miles [Garrett] got taken care of and he had two years left on his deal.
". . . You see a lot of people in our league getting taken care of [and] you just wish you had . . . that same type of energy," Parsons said. ". . . I want to be here. At the end of the day, they sign the checks. Let’s see if they want me to be here."
However, this isn't new for the Cowboys and Parsons saw the same thing happen year after year whether it was quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, former guard Zack Martin.
There's little to no reasoning as to why these holdouts happen, especially with Dallas' best players. Parsons isn't letting it derail his dedication to the team, though, and it's standing out to his teammates, especially those who went through it before.
“I mean, it’s an every year conversation," Prescott said. ". . . It’s a part of it in a sense. Is it something that I wish any of us were going through? Absolutely not. But I think Micah’s doing a hell of a job with it being here.
“He’s a great teammate, showing up, obviously not just on the field and being focused, but whether it be in the camaraderie, hanging out, [or] dinner. He’s not just doing it to sign off and say, ‘Hey, Jerry, look at me.’ He wants to be out there practicing. And honestly, I’m glad he’s not. He can’t do that to himself . . . to be honest with you. I will say that I think he deserves to get paid. I think he should get paid, and, ultimately going off the history of what I’ve seen, he will get paid. Hopefully, it’s sooner than later.”