Micah Parsons’ emphasis should only be on the Cowboys.

Micah Parsons’ emphasis should only be on the Cowboys.

Micah Parsons’ latest arrangement with Bleacher Report is part of the Dallas Cowboys’ problem, as the team has only won one playoff game in the last five seasons. The star linebacker signed a multi-year contract extension with Bleacher Report, which will also make him president of B/R Gridiron while he continues to host his own podcast. Perhaps this title is only a nice gesture, similar to an honorary degree bestowed to a superstar. Parsons might be a B/R Gridiron president as Ben Affleck is a doctor.

But, assuming this is a typical employment, shouldn’t the concentration be completely on football? President John F. Kennedy famously said, “Don’t ask what your country can do for you. Inquire what you can do for your country.” Modern Cowboy players should be asked similar questions because it appears that they no longer desire to contribute to the Cowboys’ brand, but rather utilize the Cowboys to promote their own. The focus can be off. Emmitt Smith, a former Cowboys star running back, discussed it during Super Bowl week.

“They’re living off of what happened in the past, not what’s happening now. They’re not establishing their own legacy, let alone building on the one that has already been built,” Smith told Pro Football Talk. “Nobody wants to play hard anymore. They want to join the Cowboys. Tell me how fantastic I am, check out my Instagram and podcast; I’m doing all of this. “Everything, without doing anything,” Smith added.

“What they’re living off of is what happened in the past, not what’s going down right now. They’re not establishing their own legacy, let alone building off of the legacy that was established,” Smith told Pro Football Talk.

“No one wants to play hard anymore. They want to be on the Cowboys. Tell me how good I am, see me on my Instagram, on my podcast, I’m doing all this stuff. Everything, without doing anything,” Smith continued.
Jerry Jones is a bombastic owner who enjoys the spotlight himself. He might even love the attention these types of ventures from his players now bring to his franchise. But when the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls during his ownership, it was with a far more reserved quarterback in Troy Aikman leading the team.

An NFL career is only so long (3.3 years on average, in fact). Afterwards, you can move into other ventures, like so many former Cowboys and other NFL players have done, mostly in the sports media world.

Peyton Manning, for example, waited until well after his career to begin the ManningCast and Omaha Productions. During his playing career, you could never doubt Manning’s focus or desire to win.

How could Parsons, or any athlete for that matter, claim to be taking their football season as seriously as possible, or that they are as dialed in as possible, when they’re working another job?

Does this affect the Cowboys’ chances of winning the Super Bowl? Perhaps not. But is it helpful? For an athlete in his prime, let alone the second highest paid player on “America’s Team,” the emphasis should be purely on winning, not on a podcast or what Bleacher Report should do with its football material during Week Six of the NFL season. As Bill Parcells once said, “If you have a Plan B, you don’t have a Plan A.” Parsons’ Plan A should be to win multiple postseason games for the first time in his career.

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