Micah Parsons trade: Cowboys included 'poison pill' to prevent deal from Packers to Eagles

The Dallas Cowboys shocked the NFL world when, after a difficult contract negotiation, they decided to trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers ahead of the season. Now, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the deal included a “poison pill” to prevent him from being sent to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“ESPN Sources,” Schefter wrote. “Micah Parsons’ trade to the Packers included a poison pill that the Cowboys inserted to block a deal in the near future to the Eagles.”

At the time, this detail wasn’t known to the public. However, that poison pill is, in essence, that is designed to keep Parsons from playing with Philadelphia, a division rival, in the near future. It states that, if Green Bay tried to trade Parsons to an NFC East team, they would additionally owe Dallas their 2028 first round pick. That, obviously, becomes a major reason to de-incentivize that kind of trade. It also comes after the Eagles tried to trade for him last offseason.

“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,” Schefter wrote. “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 kind of poison pill found in the Parsons trade isn’t unheard of in NFL history. The Packers included one when they moved on from Brett Favre too, trying to keep him from ending up with the Minnesota Vikings within their division. Adam Schefter further reported that the other player involved in the trade, Kenny Clark, had a similar poison pill attached to him. If Dallas sends him to an NFC North team, they also send their 2028 first round pick to Green Bay.

Dallas has been making several moves involving picks lately, adding to the questions about how many future draft picks the Cowboys are going to have. A future first and second round pick went to the Jets, along with Mazi Smith, for Quinnen Williams. This comes after Dallas picked up two first round picks from Green Bay in the Parsons trade. Notably, however, neither team can trade their 2028 first round pick as a result.

Of course, the Packers don’t seem to want to trade the Parsons, to the Eagles or anyone else. They signed him to a four-year, $188 million contract shortly after the trade.