I’m feeling healed. A healthy Trade Deadline, the PGA Tour Playoffs (I know), and football around the corner is giving me strength. SPORT is returning to my life. BBQs, pools, Italian-American Festivals can only do so much for me. Thank you, thank you Micah Parsons for holding out and giving me (all of us) something to chew on.

MLB

A rock solid deadline buoyed by the Twins impending sale, their massive debt load, and their willingness to completely nuke their roster. Star shortstop (Correa), gone. Star closer (Duran), gone. Competent setup man (Jax), gone. Other dudes (Bader, Columbe), gone. This is a nightmare for Twins fans. More than one-third of the active roster traded in one day. Why do the Twins even have $400 plus-million in debt? They play in an awesome stadium with an ultra manageable lease agreement. The construction loans should be paid off or refinanced at next to nothing. Yes, they’ve seen their local television partner go bankrupt, but their payroll has never exceeded $140m and they consistently draw close to 2m fans per year. Pathetic. Pathetic ownership.

Wyndham Championship

Cameron Young is the 1000th winner on tour. Young played his college golf (Wake Forest) close to Sedgefield CC, host of the Wyndham. Young blitzed the field to capture his first tour victory after 7 runner-ups. A native New Yorker, Young could sneak onto the Ryder Cup team.

If you watched this week, you’d notice a handful of guys pressing to finish the regular season in the top 70 Fedex Cup Rankings. The PGA heads to the playoffs and everyone outside the top 70 gets to watch from the couch (and not cash any checks). Gary Woodland made a heroic effort but ultimately came up short. Real-time rankings make for great TV and serve as a reminder that every shot counts.

NBA

Luka is a Laker for at least three more seasons. After that, he can opt out to sign a potential 5yr/$417m ($83m avg) extension. As it stands, Luka’s extension kicks in with a 2026 cap hit of $49m. Somehow, because of timing and the NBA’s awkward max contract/raise formulas, Luka will only be the League’s 17th highest paid player in 2026. That’s right, a top 5 talent for a top 20 price. That figures to be a massive advantage for the Lakers and one they’ll need to exploit.

Mr. Parsons has had enough of Jerry Jones. Micah wants a new team, a new deal, and maybe a hug.

Micah Parsons is the league’s best defensive player, but for whatever reason, isn’t locked up beyond this year to play for the Cowboys. In four season, Parsons has 3 top 3 Defensive Player of the Year finishes. PRETTY GOOD! Ignoring the individual, why do NFL players hold out? When do they hold out? And what’s next in Dallas?

First round NFL picks receive a 4yr guaranteed contract with a team option for the fifth season. In the Parsons example, the Cowboys picked up his option for this season and as such, he has no more guaranteed years (or money) beyond the 2025-2026 season. Is he a free agent? No. After this season, the Cowboys can let Parsons walk, sign him to an extension, or use the franchise tag to retain his services on another one year contract. After that, the whole scenario plays over again. The Cowboys can use the franchise tag on Parsons twice.

Today (like now), Parsons is three full seasons from having any agency over where he plays and for how much. The Cowboys would be happy to franchise tag him because those tags are only one year commitments. Any catastrophic injury, locker room issue, or decline in performance, and they can let him go. For Parsons, and I’ll remind you, playing football comes with a radical degree of physical harm. He’s been so good that there’s no upside to him playing next year. There’s virtually nothing he can do on the field that would earn him more money, because his leverage is so compromised by the fact the Cowboys can retain him on a year to year basis for the next three seasons.

That’s how you get a hold out. That’s how you get a trade request. All parties involved are simply behaving in accordance with the System’s incentives. Football players rarely get 4 contracts. Their 3rd (if they’re lucky) is smaller than their second. Parsons is at the one moment that he can maximize his career earnings.

What happens next? There’s a very real chance Jerry Jones trades him. We’re talking about a stubborn, cheap, 86yr old man. No other team would have reached this far, but Jones is the sole operator in Dallas. His track record in the last decade has only gotten worse and worse. I would absolutely not be surprised if a decrepit 86yr old made a bad business decision. He already has! Otherwise, Parsons will end up getting a radical sum of money and we’ll be treated to a press conference of Jerry and Micah grinning next to each other. Parsons one way or another is going to be the league’s highest paid non-quarterback. Dallas actually has the league’s highest paid QB. Not Mahomes. Not Burrow. Not Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. It’s Dak Prescott. Why? Because he played a senior citizen like a flute and Parsons could be next. Or, you’re favorite team could nab him for picks…