Micah Parsons is officially signed, sealed, and delivered in Dallas.
The Cowboys agreed to terms with the first-round rookie linebacker on a four-year contract, the team announced Wednesday following its second minicamp practice.
Parsons, the No. 12 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, took to social media to show pen touching paper.
Micah Parsons shared photos of himself signing his rookie contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys have now inked seven members of their 11-player draft class. Left unsigned are second-round cornerback Kelvin Joseph, third-round defensive linemen Osa Odighizuwa and Chauncey Golston, and third-round CB Nahshon Wright.
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Contract Details
According to CBS Sports salary cap expert Joel Corry, a former sports agent, the total value of Parsons’ deal should check in around $17,079,793, based on the league’s slotted wage scale. He’s taking home a $9,781,668 signing bonus and will count $3,105,417 against the Cowboys’ 2021 cap, per Corry.
Like all rookies, Parsons received a standard-issue four-year pact. Like all first-round selections, his contract is fully guaranteed and includes a fifth-year team option for 2025.
Parsons becomes the Cowboys’ third-highest-paid LB in terms of cap dollars, behind veteran Leighton Vander Esch ($3.679 million) and ahead of free-agent addition Tarell Basham ($2.5 million). Collectively, the team is allocating $25.182 million to the position — or 11.99% of its payroll — 11th-most in the NFL, according to Spotrac.com.
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Dallas’ brain trust (owner Jerry Jones, vice president Stephen Jones, personnel czar Will McClay) scrambled to draft Parsons under the assumption that he would step in as a day-one playmaker on a moribund defense. They thought correct.
There’s nothing Parsons hasn’t done throughout several Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and ongoing minicamp sessions. He’s played inside linebacker. He’s kicked outside. He’s dropped back in coverage. He’s rushed the quarterback. He’s picked passes. He’s turned heads.
“You can see the ability and just the instinct, the way he can react and get off the spot at the linebacker position,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said last week. “We’re just going through our installs, going through our concepts. But he’s fitting in real nicely.”
During Tuesday’s practice, Parsons operated as the Designated Pass Rusher, a role he’s embraced under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and star edge defender DeMarcus Lawrence.
“Just creating havoc, creating disruption,” he said on playing DPR, via the Dallas Morning News. “Being able to create that excitement, momentum change, a chance to get the ball out and get it back to our explosive offense. That’s kind of what I like about pass rushing.”
Parsons added: “Last week we were watching film of pass rush and D-Law came up to me and was like, ‘you pass rush like that, Rook?’ I was like, ‘yeah, I used to be a defensive end.’ He was like, ‘Alright, tap in with me.’ Me and him have been getting closer. If he’s out there, he’ll help me out and we’ll talk a little bit. Coming up here after OTAs are over, we’re going to work together before camp starts.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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Cowboys Sign Micah Parsons to Massive Fully-Guaranteed Deal