When the Dallas Cowboys made the decision to trade NFL All-Pro edge rusher to the Green Bay Packers, they also wanted to make sure Parsons didn’t come back to haunt them — or quarterback Dak Prescott — in any meaningful way.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cowboys and Packers agreed to a “Poison Pill” clause in the trade to prevent Parsons from playing for the defending Super Bowl champion and hated NFC East Division rival Philadelphia Eagles until at least 2027.
The Packers sent their 2026 and 2027 first round picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Cowboys in exchange for Parsons, who they immediately signed to a 4-year, $188 million contract extension.
If Parsons were to end up with any NFC East team before 2028, it would trigger a clause that adds the Packers’ 2028 first round pick to the deal.
“The previously unreported condition states that if the Packers decide to trade Parsons to a team in the NFC East division — the Eagles tried to trade for him last summer before being rebuffed — then Green Bay would owe Dallas its 2028 first-round draft pick, sources involved in the trade told ESPN,” Schefter wrote on Sunday, November 9. ” … League sources said these poison pill conditions clearly and smartly were put into place to block Parsons from winding up in Philadelphia, not far from where he grew up and one day wanted to play. The poison pill conditions apply to this season and 2026, according to sources, meaning the Packers don’t have a clear path to trade Parsons to another NFC East team until 2027 at the earliest..”
The trade also included language that, in a much less likely occurrence, prevents the Cowboys from trading Clark to any team in the NFC North.
Parsons and the Packers face the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in a marquee Monday Night Football matchup in Week 10.
Blockbuster Trade After Contentious Summer
Trading Parsons to the Packers elevated them to becoming legitimate Super Bowl contenders and seems to have relegated the Cowboys to also-rans. Parsons leads the NFL in QB pressures and leads the Cowboys with 6.5 sacks.
Parsons is one of only 2 players in NFL history with at least 12.0 sacks in each of his first 4 seasons along with the late Reggie White, who started his career with the Eagles before leaving for the Packers in free agency.
The trade came after a summer in which Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones went back and forth bickering publicly over his lack of a contract extension.
Parsons, 26 years old, was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft and is a 3-time NFL All-Pro and 4-time Pro Bowler through the first 4 seasons.
The Cowboys have arguably the NFL’s worst defense — they’re 31st out of 32 teams in yards allowed — and are 3-6-1.
“When there’s opportunities to be aggressive for the right players, we’re not going to sit on our hands,” Roseman said on November 4 . “You don’t have great success without taking great risks. … We can’t be afraid to fail. I think a lot of times for you to get to the top you have to be willing to take chances that may look controversial at times. …. I won’t live with regret.”
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