CLEVELAND — On Sunday, Dak Prescott watched his pockets get deeper than a canyon on the surface of Mars. Just hours ahead of the Dallas Cowboys taking the field for their regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the All-Pro quarterback signed a historic NFL contract that landed with the impact of a meteor, and not long after CeeDee Lamb was awarded one as well.
There is little rest for the Cowboys' front office, however, because there remains one-third of the triumvirate that remains without a long-term deal, and that's all-world pass rusher Micah Parsons — over the moon about the one Prescott was awarded.
"Goddamn, you know what I'm saying? Dak owed me a little bit of money," said Parsons with a huge grin and a laugh, explaining his reaction when news came down of Prescott's numbers (including $231 million fully guaranteed). "So I was like, I went to him right before we came here I was like, 'I'll never be broke', and we just laughed."
The three-time All-Pro then pushed the jokes aside to speak to Cowboys' and NFL fans about his quarterback, in a much more serious and intentional tone.
"He didn't cheat the game," said Parsons of Prescott. "He earned everything he got. So that just goes to his work, his dedication, his craft, everything he put into it. Good things happen when you don't cheat the game. And I can say he's been 100 percent balling since he's been here.
"So when it comes to that guy, he is not a guy that doesn't deserve it."
Quiet as it's kept, Parsons made it clear earlier this offseason that he had no interest in landing his new deal until after Prescott and Lamb were taken care of.
With those now done, Parsons still isn't shifting gears on his own talks. For him, it's about eating on the field and, if he continues to do that, as evidenced in his stellar opener against the Browns, then there's no reason the Cowboys won't give him a shiny new plate for himself.
"I just [have] to keep doing what I'm doing," he said. "Keep working, keep trying to be the best player I can be and try to win championships, and then they probably throw me a little something on the side."
Only … it will be anything but little.
He finished the Browns off with a team-high nine pressures, one sack and a pass break up that led to an interception for linebacker Eric Kendricks — still not entirely pleased with the performance.
That kind of attitude will lead him directly to the Brinks truck.
