The Dallas Cowboys have had a year to plan out the “highest-paid-non-QB-ever” contract extension for defensive star Micah Parsons. … and for a time they were catching a break as Micah himself spoke openly of offering “America’s Team” a hometown discount.

Still, even before $40 million APY became the new bar to leap over – thanks to the Myles Garrett deal in Cleveland and then the Ja’Marr Chase deal in Cincinnati – that number was on Micah’s mind.

As he said recently, “I just played these last couple years on $2 (million) and $3 million. I think if I had $40 million, I’d be the happiest man alive. You go from playing for the league rookie minimum and get that big of a jump, I think anybody would be happy.”

Parsons played last season for a base salary of $2.989 million and is scheduled to play 2025 on the fifth-year option of $24.07 million. The good news about that latter number? If Dallas does a deal as logically structured, it will cut Parsons’ 2025 cap impact in half …

And Dallas can have over $50 million in shopping room.

The bad news? Well, besides the fact that the deal isn’t done – even as CowboysCountry.com has been told that “proposal numbers” have been exchanged – Micah essentially said this week that there is no bad news.

“It’s coming along well,” Parsons announced to DLLS this week.

Parsons truly seems unconcerned about not having a long-term agreement yet, and about where this is eventually going. He’s called owner Jerry Jones “my dawg” and both sides seem to understand that with this sort of money involved … maybe $186 million total …

This is about to be a business partnership.

We continue to believe that the rumors and speculation about a trade here does not follow the Dallas plan. The Joneses know that a guy who isn’t yet 26 but who has four Pro Bowls, two All-Pro invites and 52.5 sacks in four seasons is close to irreplaceable.

Oh, and maybe they know how starved a skeptical Cowboys Nation is for a feel-good move forward.

Parsons has earned an extension to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. Both sides are optimistic here. We’ve probably solved the $40 million part of the issue, leaving only one core concern.

When?