The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys are in the same boat. Both organizations must sign long-term deals with two of the league’s elite pass rushers in T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons. With the typical modus operandi of Jerry Jones, the T.J. Watt deal could impact the Dallas Cowboys significantly in re-signing Micah Parsons.

Watt enters the final year of his 4-year, $112 million deal he signed after his rookie contract expired. Watt will turn 31 this year and seeks a new deal from the Steelers organization.

Watt has proven that the original deal was good for Pittsburgh with an NFL-record 22.5 sacks in 2021, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and 58.5 sacks across the last four seasons since he originally signed his extension. At 108 sacks in his eight-year career, Watt has proven to be one of the best at his position.

It’s no surprise that Watt would want to be paid for his production on the field. While the Steelers have begun tooling around Watt with the likes of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joey Porter Jr. in the secondary, Patrick Queen and Alex Highsmith at the linebacker core, and investing a first-round pick in defensive end Derrick Harmon, this defense still runs on T.J. Watt and his productivity.

You could make the argument that Micah Parsons makes the same impact for the Dallas Cowboys.

Simultaneously, as Watt began playing on his big contract, Micah Parsons had just signed his rookie deal for the 2021 season, where he won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with 13 sacks after moving from linebacker to a pass-rusher dominant role due to the team’s injuries. Since entering the league, Parsons has totaled 52.5 sacks in his first four seasons and constantly wreaks havoc in the backfield. Despite missing six games due to injury in 2024, Parsons still got 12 sacks in 11 games and was on pace to be one of the league’s sack leaders, if he didn’t have a spot at the top of the list.

Parsons commands double teams in pass-rushing situations. The Cowboys have tried to minimize this with the investments of 2nd-round picks the last two years (Marshawn Kneeland in 2024 and Donovan Ezeiruaku in 2025) and bringing Dante Fowler Jr. back from his one-year stint in Washington. But despite the emergence of DeMarvion Overshown and the dynamic duo at cornerback between Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, this defense runs on Micah Parsons and his productivity.

The Cowboys and Steelers have very similar situations with Watt and Parsons regarding their future. The only difference is that Watt has won a Defensive Player of the Year award, while Micah Parsons is five years younger and hungry to chase excellence. It’s just a matter of which team gets to the finish line of the dotted line first. These teams must ink their star.

Micah Parsons recently spoke with Clarence Hill and claimed he had a handshake agreement with Jerry Jones in March when his agent wasn’t present. We know handshake agreements are not done deals, so Parsons remains unsigned. But Parsons also mentioned Jerry’s approach is “going to cost them more.” This only points to T.J. Watt resetting the market for edge rushers so Micah Parsons can exceed that amount.

At the end of the day, while Parsons might be a Cowboy, the organization can save money by re-signing Parsons before Watt. Dallas must consider other pending free agents like George Pickens, who they ironically just acquired from the Steelers. If they want all the resources to keep as much talent on this team, they must sign their own early. Parsons is one you want to sign now.

If the Micah Parsons deal was done in March, there would be no concern on the Cowboys’ end. Instead, dragging their feet will allow the Pittsburgh Steelers to breathe and pay less for Watt than the Cowboys will for Parsons. This isn’t good business by the Jones family, so the Cowboys’ fanbase can only sit back and watch closely to see how the T.J. Watt deal goes down.

Slow and steady will not win this race.