The Dallas Cowboys stunned the NFL when they traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers during the offseason, but they took measures to make sure the star pass-rusher will not end up with their NFC East rivals.
The Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers in August in exchange for two first-round draft picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal also included a “poison pill” clause that discourages Green Bay from trading Parsons to the Philadelphia Eagles in the near future.
If the Packers were to trade Parsons to an NFC East team in either 2025 or 2026, they would owe the Cowboys an additional first-round draft pick — Green Bay’s 2028 first-round pick. The Cowboys’ main goal with the clause was to prevent the Packers from trading Parsons to Philadelphia.
The same “poison pill” condition was attached to Clark. If the Cowboys were to trade Clark to an NFC North team, they would owe Green Bay their 2028 first-round pick.
Most people were unaware of the clauses until just before Tuesday’s trade deadline, when teams noticed that there were conditions attached to both the Cowboys’ and Packers’ 2028 first-round picks. A similar clause was used by Green Bay when they traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets in 2008 and wanted to prevent the Hall of Fame quarterback from being flipped to an NFC North team.
Parsons had 6.5 sacks in eight games entering Week 10 and has been as good as advertised with the Packers. He signed a four-year, $188 million contract extension following the trade, and Green Bay looks like a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
It is unlikely that the Packers would look to trade Parsons to any team either this season or next, but the Cowboys wanted to make sure they are not going to have to face their former All-Pro in divisional play.
