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Though this all may not matter if he gets a new deal, Micah Parsons filed a grievance with the league earlier this year regarding his 2025 salary.

Parsons, according to both Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and The Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins, filed a lawsuit earlier this year regarding his fifth-year option salary with the Cowboys. Parsons believes that his salary for the season should be $24 million, while both the Cowboys and the NFL have his salary slated to be $21.324 million.

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Though that’s a relatively small amount, especially considering what he’s angling for extension-wise, the issue is over his position. Listed as a defensive end, Parsons considers himself a linebacker and has actually won several awards at the position — including the Rookie of the Year award in 2021. Fifth-year options are based on positions and the one that players “participated in the most plays during his third league year,” which leads to the nearly $3 million discrepancy.

Parsons has been angling for a new contract all offseason, and even requested a trade to try and make his point known as talks with the Cowboys don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that he offered Parsons record-breaking money in March in an apparent handshake deal, but Jones said that Parsons’ agent rejected that agreement. Jones has made it clear he doesn't plan to honor Parsons’ trade request, and said he expects him to be out there when the team opens the regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.

Parsons has more than proven himself as one of the best defensive players in the league in recent years. He’s had at least 12 sacks in every season, and had 43 total tackles last year in just 13 games while being limited with an ankle injury. Parsons has still been limited at practice, in part due to a back injury, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer said this week Parsons may have a limited workload as he tries to “ramp up” early on.

Again, this grievance may not matter if Parsons and the Cowboys reach a new deal. The difference between linebackers and edge rushers or defensive ends isn’t much, either, which could make the grievance significantly more difficult all around.

But this is just another example of how messy things have become between Parsons and the Cowboys this offseason. With their season-opener a little over a week away, it’s not a great sign.

Tom Brady will have fewer NFL-imposed restrictions on him this season as he enters his second year as an analyst on games broadcast on Fox.

The restrictions were placed on the legendary quarterback last August when his purchase of a 10% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders was pending approval from the league owners. Brady's minority stake was approved in October.

One of the so-called Brady Rules enacted by the NFL prohibited the rookie broadcaster from attending production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week's game.

Read more:Tom Brady played in 10 Super Bowls. The road to first one as a broadcaster has been challenging

That retriction has been lifted, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to The Times on Wednesday morning.

There is one caveat, however — Brady must attend those meetings remotely. He is still prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings, McCarthy said.

Brady is allowed to interview players off site, as he did on occassion last year, McCarthy said.

Read more:The most shocking NFL players looking for jobs after roster cuts

Like last year, Brady can't "egregiously criticize officials," said McCarthy, who added there were no issues along those lines in 2024.

Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was allowed by the league to attend the production meetings ahead of Super Bowl LIX in February.

The Athletic was first to report the loosening of the restrictions on Brady.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.