In what has been a flurrying day for teams re-signing key players ahead of the NFL’s legal tampering period start time of Monday at noon (ET), quite easily the most notable news was Myles Garrett being signed to a humongous, nearly quarterback-esque, 4 year, $160 million.
This shattered the previous record for the highest non-QB contract in the league that was previously the $35.5 million per year extension that Maxx Crosby received just days prior.
And Parsons, who is looking for a new deal of his own this summer coming into the final year of his rookie contract, had a pointed but short reply on X.
Parsons Reacts To Myles Garrett’s $40 Million/Year Extension
After submitting a trade request earlier this offseason, the Cleveland Browns always knew that it was going to take something big to re-sign the former Defensive Player of the Year to a long term deal.
Having felt that the direction of the team was not correct – likely partially due to the fact that their future was hindered by substantial money owed to Deshaun Watson – the former #1 overall pick made a trade request to get out.
But evidently the pull of an enormous new deal was too much for Garrett to resist, and he remains in Cleveland for the foreseeable future.
How Does This Deal Impact Parsons’ Contract Negotations
For Parsons, this shifts the goal posts to what he may expect to get in a contract extension this year. With the Dallas Cowboys already having the most expensive quarterback (by quite some margin) on their books in Dak Prescott, the team will be reticent to also have the most expensive non-quarterback on their roster.
Particularly given the fact that Parsons’ excellent, but at times inconsistent play does not quite match up with the elite-elite play of Crosby and Garrett.
Parsons has previously said he does not have to be the highest paid non-QB in the league stating, “No, I don’t [need to be the highest-paid]. I don’t need 40…It would be nice to be surrounded by good players. To me, having $40 million and being chipped every play and slid into 3-4 people, that doesn’t sound too fun to me.”
Yet now things have shifted dramatically, so much so that the elusive “40” he spoke of last December would not even give him the top spot after Garrett’s monster extension.
And with the salary cap every increasing by larger amounts year after year, players at the top end of the game are – understandably – looking to cash in more and more.
After restructuring CeeDee Lamb‘s and Dak Prescott’s contracts in 2025, the team now has over $50 million in cap space. But do not get it twisted; the team will have cap hits of over $110 million between Lamb and Prescott in 2026 and 2027, just when Parsons’ possible future extension would come into play.
It could well be that the All-Pro still does not feel the need to be paid more than any other at his position, but now the line has been moved to a point that a $34-35 million deal may just not cut the mustard.
