Stephen A. Smith suggests Micah Parsons sit out the season

As Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys continue their contract standoff, Stephen A. Smith believes the All-Pro linebacker might need to sit out the entire season.

There are players and teams being far apart in contract negotiations, and then there is wherever Parsons and the Cowboys are right now. Parsons wants a new deal before playing the fifth and final season of his rookie deal. The Cowboys don’t want to give Parsons a new contract because he could get hit by a car. They’re so far apart that Thursday morning on First Take, Smith suggested Parsons might have to do something brash to get Jerry Jones’ attention.

“If you’re Micah Parsons…I think he’s gotta be willing to sit out the year. Because I think that’s the only language that Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones at this particular moment is going to understand.” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/3SPJBemBlW

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 31, 2025

“If you’re Micah Parsons – I don’t think it’s gonna come to do this please don’t get me wrong – but in the interest of discussing his contractual business, I think he’s gotta be willing to sit out the year,” Smith told Adam Schefter and Ryan Clark on First Take. “Because I think that’s the only language that Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones at this particular moment is going to understand.

“This is football. One practice can end your season. A practice can end your season, the wrong cut, the wrong hit, the wrong touch, it could end your season and compromise his long-term aspirations.”

Smith proceeded to note that Jerry and Stephen Jones aren’t worried about Parsons’ best interest, they’re only worried about themselves. Which is typical from the side of the owner when negotiating a contract with a player, particularly one who is still under contract.

As much as Parsons wants and deserves a new contract, and as much as the Cowboys are seemingly fumbling the deal, it’s very hard to envision a 26-year-old All-Pro linebacker wasting one of the prime years of his career. But even harder to figure is how Stephen A. Smith could be calling for a player at a contract impasse to sit out a season in one breath, while calling for Bryce Harper to be suspended over an argument with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in another.

“That warrants a suspension. I’m not gonna lie to you, you can’t confront the commissioner like that and talk to him like that.” – Stephen A. Smith on Bryce Harper yelling at Rob Manfred pic.twitter.com/bNex5wzAJr

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 30, 2025

Why is it okay for Parsons to stand up to authority by sitting out a season while under contract, but Harper can’t tell a commissioner who wants a salary cap to get out of the clubhouse? In one take, Smith is very pro-players union, in the other, he’s against it. The two thought processes don’t seem to align.