Cowboys To Exercise Micah Parsons’ Fifth-Year Option, Designating Him DE Instead Of LB

According to Michael Gehlken, the Cowboys are exercising Micah Parsons‘ fifth-year option for 2025. 

Gehlken, citing two sources familiar the decision, reports Dallas will designate him as a defensive end, meaning Parsons will earn around $21.32 million under the fifth-year option compared to the $24 million he’d bring in as a linebacker. 

This has been a battleground for teams and players, as the linebacker designation for franchise tags and fifth-year options includes both off-ball linebackers and edge rushers from a two-point stance.

In the past, this meant the linebacker number was lower than the defensive end number, and edge rushers who received the lower tag would file grievances arguing they should be classified as defensive ends. However, that dynamic appears to have flipped with several big-money outside linebacker deals in recent years. 

We’ll see if this results in friction between Dallas and Parsons, who’s eligible for a new contract for the first time this offseason. 

The deadline to pick up fifth-year options for first-round picks from 2021 is on May 2. 

Parsons, 24, was the former No. 12 overall pick by the Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $17,079,792 rookie contract that included a $9,781,667 signing bonus.

He’ll make $21.32 million under the fifth-year option as a defensive end. 

In 2023, Parsons appeared in all 17 games and recorded 64 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, and two pass defenses. 

Here’s our tracker for fifth-year options around the league.