Micah Parsons is headed to the Green Bay Packers after a blockbuster trade, leaving the Dallas Cowboys following a protracted contract dispute. ESPN was first to report the deal.
A person with knowledge of the details told the Associated Press that the Packers and Parsons have agreed a four-year, $188m contract that includes $136m guaranteed. The deal makes the two-time All-Pro edge rusher the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
The contract, negotiated by agent David Mulugheta of Athletes First, will pay Parsons $62m in the first new year and $120m fully guaranteed at signing – all records for a defensive player.
Parsons confirmed his departure in a statement posted on X. “I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control,” he wrote. “My heart has always been here, and still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declined to discuss the deal with Mulugheta, insisting publicly that he and Parsons had already agreed to parameters of an extension in the spring. Jones had previously dismissed trade speculation as “pure BS” and argued the team could retain Parsons through his rookie option and successive franchise tags.
But Parsons had grown increasingly frustrated, removing Cowboys references from his social media and formally requesting a trade on 1 August. The rift culminated in Tuesday’s agreement, which sees Dallas receive two first-round picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark in return, according to a person with knowledge of the trade.
The Packers, who reached the playoffs last season behind quarterback Jordan Love, are adding one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive players at the height of his career. Parsons, 26, recorded 40.5 sacks over his first four seasons in Dallas and was named an All-Pro in three of them.
His arrival recalls the 2018 deal that sent Khalil Mack from the Raiders to the Bears for a package of draft picks, though Parsons’ contract far surpasses Mack’s six-year, $141m extension. For Green Bay, the price is steep but the payoff could be transformative: a generational pass rusher anchoring a defense with Super Bowl ambitions.
