The heated summer drama between star edge rusher Micah Parsons and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has ended — surprisingly, with Parsons finding a new home.

The Cowboys agreed to trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, officially announcing the news Thursday afternoon. In exchange for Parsons, the Packers sent the Cowboys two first-round draft picks for 2026 and 2027, and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

Parsons will reportedly sign a four-year, $188 million deal with the Packers upon joining the team, including $136 million guaranteed, per multiple reports.

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His $47 million average salary makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. The new deal for Parsons also outpaces the three-year, $123 million extension of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, who became the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback in late July, about a week before the team reported for training camp.

Parsons shared a statement on X thanking Cowboys fans for their support shortly after the first reports broke.

Parsons entered 2025 playing on the fifth-year option, in the final year of his rookie contract. Now, he’s secured a long-term deal to ensure his guarantees beyond this season.

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The Cowboys host the Packers on Sept. 28 on “Sunday Night Football.”

For Dallas, it was a rough road to this ending. On Aug. 1, Parsons, frustrated over what he called a lack of progress on his extension, told the NFL world, via social media, that he no longer wanted to be a Cowboy and demanded a trade. Publicly, Jones took the announcement in stride, treating it as a negotiating tactic.

Even after the dramatic trade demand, Parsons was on the sideline, in Cowboys gear, at training camp in Oxnard, California, present with the team despite sitting out of practice. But jabs from Jerry Jones eventually became frequent fixtures in his media tours, including commentary on the involvement of Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, during negotiations. Frustrations between the two sides were tangible.

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Amid the conflict, the sides pressed on but were ultimately unable to come to terms on a long-term deal.

The return on the trade will be scrutinized for days, this entire season and years to come. Before the deal, seven league executives polled by Yahoo Sports — including four general managers who have executed elite “star” level trades — all shared a common agreement when it came to Parsons: If he was ultimately traded, the basement price on him was expected to start at the what the Raiders landed for Khalil Mack, then likely require a sweetener on top of it. Ultimately, the Raiders received two first-round draft picks, along with a third and sixth — in exchange for their superstar defender plus a second- and seventh-round pick.

“For the right team, if you’re right there [on the verge of a Super Bowl], I think you’d give up a little more [than the Mack trade],” one general manager said. “I think Dallas could get three firsts if it was coming from someone who is expecting their firsts to be at the bottom of the round. That’s still a lot for a defensive player. Or it could be two firsts and a quality starter, like when the [Carolina] Panthers packaged DJ Moore to get the first pick in the draft.”

Dallas fell short of that haul, yet Jones on Thursday lauded the deal, expecting it to be equivalent to the memorable Herschel Walker trade in the 1990s that helped jumpstart the Cowboys’ dynasty.

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“I think a lot of Micah and I wish him so much success — I don’t want him to have success when he plays the Cowboys as much as I do want him to have overall success,” Jones said. “But Micah Parsons did an outstanding job for us for four years and a little bit of the way Herschel Walker may have had his greatest contribution to the Cowboys, what he brought to us when he left could be a tremendous thing for our fans and the success of this team.”

 

The trade agreement closes a drawn-out waiting game between Parsons and the Cowboys, which began in the months following the 2023 season, when the star edge rusher first became eligible for a contract extension. It also marks another frustrating period for Cowboys fans, who have been rankled by Jones’ penchant for closing deals long after the market has repeatedly hiked higher for the stars on Dallas’ roster.

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Whatever the case, Parsons’ trade marks the loss of a franchise cornerstone who quickly became a defining component of the Cowboys’ defense after being selected 12th overall in the 2021 draft. Through four seasons, Parsons has stacked his NFL résumé with a defensive Rookie of the Year nod, as well as three All-Pro selections (including two on the first team) and four Pro Bowls.