COWBOYS PULL THE TRIGGER | Parsons shipped to Packers, gets record-breaking deal for non-QB
What we here at ETBlitz.com had thought might happen has indeed happened.
The Dallas Cowboys, according to various reports, have traded disgruntled edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, an NFC rival. Several reports say the Cowboys will receive two first-round draft picks and the rights to defensive lineman Kenny Clark in the trade.
Parsons and the Cowboys had been negotiating, sometimes in the media, for months, as Parsons’ contract with the Cowboys expires at the end of the 2025 season.
Often when the Cowboys have seemingly been at stickling point in a contract negotiation, it seems things are at their worst when suddenly, a new deal is announced; that happened in recent cases of quarterback Dak Prescott, and before that, running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Longtime Cowboys fans will remember the contract issues between running back Emmitt Smith, who actually made his point by holding out the first two games of the 1993 season. Smith’s point was taken, loud and clear, by owner Jerry Jones and Cowboys’ leadership at the time (See this chronicled on the Dallas Cowboys documentary, America’s Team, the Gambler and his Cowboys, right now on Netflix), and teammate Charles Haley helped him make it by throwing his helmet through the sheet rock in the Cowboys’ locker room.
This time, though, Parsons tried to fight a battle in social media, and it was something he and his representation thought they could turn in their favor. But an older (wiser?) Jones would not give in this time. Any offer that had been on the table was pulled, and the Cowboys honored Parsons’ request to be traded, made a few weeks ago after the Cowboys reported to training camp.
Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that the Cowboys had made Parsons a $202 million offer.
Thursday morning, several sports news media outlets reported that the Cowboys were receiving offers for Parsons, and they took one, apparently from the Packers. ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter has reported (at 4:10 p.m. Central time) that Parsons and the Packers have agreed on a four-year, $188 million contract. According to Schefter and others, it includes $120 million, and makes Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in the history of the league. In the first year, Parsons will receive a staggering $62 MILLION, Schefter reports. Parsons is only 26 years old. Since being drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft in 2021, Parsons has 52 1/2 sacks.
Clark was drafted by Green Bay late in the first round in 2016. Clark, 29, has 35 career sacks and 417 tackles.