The longer the Cowboys wait to finalize his contract, the more expensive it will be. Especially if owner/G.M. Jerry Jones continues to drag his feet while other pass rushers get paid.
It’s a factor for the Bengals and Steelers, too. With both Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt also trying to get new contracts, each deal becomes a factor in the remaining ones.
We’ve already seen it happen this year. If Parsons, Watt, and/or Hendrickson had been paid last year, it would have been cheaper since it would have happened before players like Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett pushed the market higher and higher.
Parsons and Watt are the most important. Both are surely trying to surpass Garrett’s $40 million per year in new-money average. If one does, the other will then have a new target.
Even though Hendrickson isn’t angling to be the highest paid at the position, the higher the top of the market, the easier it is for him to argue for whatever it is that he’s trying to get at some point beneath No. 1.
For the teams, there’s no reason to wait. They should be rushing to get the deals done, because the price definitely will go up and more deals get done.
For the players, there’s value in doing something the teams technically aren’t permitted to do — collude.
Last year, the agents at Athletes First played the Dolphins and Packers against each other, as they secured maximum compensation for quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love. This year, there’s an opportunity (and a challenge) for agents to work across the ultra-competitive lines that separate the various firms and craft a plan for getting the best deal for both players.
Beyond the natural rivalries between the agencies that handle Parsons and Watt (Athletes First and CAA, respectively), the players are in competition, too. Both Parsons and Watt have a case to be made to be the highest-paid non-quarterback.
Frankly, at this point it makes sense for Parsons and Watt to wait. Which makes it even more urgent for the teams to get the deals done. It’s safe to say the franchise that goes first will end up paying less than it would have paid, if it had gone second.
Through it all, the players will have to decide whether to hold out, or to hold in, until they get their new deals.
Our guess is that, in the end, Parsons and Watt will get signed. With Hendrickson, who knows? The Bengals don’t seem to care if he holds out. Which puts him in position to potentially be this year’s Haason Reddick, if he doesn’t eventually take their best offer.
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