FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys traded four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.
In exchange, the Cowboys received three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks (2026 and 2027).
Parsons agreed to a four-year, $188 million contract with the Packers that includes $120 million fully guaranteed at signing and $136 million in total guarantees, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, sources told ESPN.
Parsons released a statement on social media Thursday, saying in part, "I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control. My heart has always been here, and it 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."
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 28, 2025
He will return to Dallas with the Packers in Week 4 this season when Green Bay plays the Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football."
Earlier Thursday, ESPN reported that the Cowboys were willing to listen to trade offers for Parsons, and talks escalated quickly.
The trade ends what, at one time, appeared to be a careerlong relationship between the Cowboys and Parsons.
Before the 2021 draft, Parsons said his dream was to play for the Cowboys, and after a trade down, Dallas selected him with the 12th pick. As late as last December, Parsons told ESPN he wanted his name to be remembered like Hall of Famers Bob Lilly, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, whose jersey numbers have never been worn again.
But those feelings ended this season during an acrimonious negotiation on a contract extension that was never finalized and a trade request that was made Aug. 1. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that the Cowboys would not trade Parsons, but the package in return was evidently worthy of a deal.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has said in the past that rarely, if ever, does he think a team is one player away. He reiterated that Aug. 27, when asked if a player like Parsons could put his team over the hump.
Jones could hope the trade of Parsons has a similar effect to that of the 1989 trade of running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings, that the Cowboys used to build their rosters that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
Walker was 27 at the time of the trade. Parsons is 26.
In March, Parsons set up a meeting with Jones that he wrote in his trade request was to discuss leadership, only to have Jones begin talking about a contract. Jones disputed that assertion and said the two came to an agreement on the length, total money and guaranteed money on an extension.
When the Cowboys attempted to talk to Parsons' agent, David Mulugheta, it was met with resistance and neither side presented an offer. On numerous occasions, Jones blamed the lack of a deal on Mulugheta.
Parsons attended the mandatory June minicamp and was at training camp, going through a hold-in. He never practiced but went through some walk-throughs and meetings. He said in June and again at the start of training camp that he was suffering from back tightness.
He had at least two MRIs, and Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the last one, which came Aug. 22 before the final preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, came back clean. On Aug. 26, Schottenheimer said Parsons was cleared medically by the team staff.
Parsons was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons. The only other Cowboys to start their careers with four Pro Bowl selections are Zack Martin and Hall of Famers Smith and Mel Renfro. Parsons was a finalist for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times.
He and Hall of Famer Reggie White are the only players in NFL history to record at least 12 sacks in each of their first four seasons. Parsons' 52.5 sacks are fifth most in a player's first four seasons.
But now he is gone, joining the Packers, leaving the Cowboys with a gaping hole on defense.
The Cowboys have Dante Fowler Jr., Marshawn Kneeland, Sam Williams, Donovan Ezeiruaku, this year's second-round pick, and James Houston remaining as pass rushers on their 53-man roster. They have combined for 73 sacks in their careers.
Though Parsons has never had fewer than 12 sacks in any of his first four seasons, the Packers haven't had a player reach double-digit sacks since Parsons entered the league in 2021.
Green Bay's last double-digit sack season from an individual player came from Za'Darius Smith, who had 12.5 in 2020. Rashan Gary, the Packers' first-round pick in 2019, led them with 7.5 sacks last season. Gary has never had more than 9.5 sacks in his career.
Before the trade, the Packers' top edge players were Gary, 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness (who has seven sacks in two seasons) and 2022 fifth-round pick Kingsley Enagbare (who has 9.5 career sacks).
Gutekunst did not sign an edge player in free agency, and he waited until the fourth round of the draft to add to the position. He used the 124th overall pick on Texas defensive end Barryn Sorrell, but it appears Sorrell's preseason knee injury will keep him out to start the season.
The biggest change the Packers made to their pass-rushing unit before this trade was to switch defensive line coaches this offseason. Coach Matt LaFleur replaced Jason Rebrovich with former Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
Clark, who has spent his entire nine-year career in Green Bay, has 35 sacks in his career.
Thirteen months ago, Clark, 29, signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension that included a $17.5 million signing bonus. The Packers paid him more than $37 million of that between last year and a $7.5 million roster bonus this past March. He has remaining base salaries of $1.3 million (this season), $8.8 million (2026) and $18.3 million (2027) plus an $11 million roster bonus due in March. None of that, however, is guaranteed.
Clark had one of his least productive seasons in 2024, with 37 tackles and just one sack. However, he revealed this offseason that he played almost the entire season with a painful toe injury that he sustained in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil. He underwent surgery on his right foot in January shortly after the season.
The Packers were planning to start Clark and Devonte Wyatt as their two interior defensive linemen, but they kept six defensive tackles -- one more than usual -- on their original 53-man roster this week. The other starting spot will come down to Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, rookie sixth-round pick Warren Brinson or undrafted rookie Nazir Stackhouse.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.