By Mardeio Cannon | OBSERVER Columnist

Since I am not a Dallas Cowboys fan like many of you who have infected the country with your zeal for them, it is out of my character to devote a column to writing about one of the team’s key players. Micah Parsons is considered one of the best defensive players in the NFL. The 6-3, 245-pound Parsons was drafted in the first round in 2021 out of Penn State and has made the Pro Bowl each of his first four years. He is a one-man wrecking crew at outside linebacker, where teams have to game plan to keep him in check.

Parsons, who is entering the final year of his contract, wants an extension. As I pen this column, Jerry Jones, the Cowboys’ billionaire owner, has not offered a new deal to perhaps his team’s best player. (If however, Parsons has signed a new deal by the time you read this column, why did it take this long?)

Two other NFL top players — All-Pro Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson and Washington Commanders star wide receiver Terry McLaurin — also are in contract disputes. (Both are in camp, they still have not agreed to new contracts.) However, the Cowboys have made it a habit for their top players to sweat to the last minute to get a deal done.

The question is why a team owner who knows that without their star players their team has little chance to succeed would make their best players beg and plead for a contract that everyone knows they deserve.

This type of behavior was on full display when Michael Jordan was at the top of his game as the face of the NBA and became eligible to get paid what he was worth. However, owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause decided to break up the Chicago Bulls’ run as NBA champions rather than pay Jordan $30 million per year. In my opinion, some NFL owners have a plantation-owners’ mentality about paying Black players top contracts even though they are in the business of acquiring top players. When Tony Romo was the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, he never had a long contract dispute even though he had limited success on the field.

Parsons eventually will get his money; however, I believe this will affect his play. It shouldn’t have to be this way when you have proved yourself on the field. Shame on you, Jerry Jones!