Total Pro Sports
Teams that want to acquire Dallas Cowboys superstar linebacker Micah Parsons better be ready to sell the farm, and much more.
On Friday, Micah Parsons publicly requested a trade from the Cowboys in a lengthy X/Twitter post. The 26-year-old said he “personally” issued his trade demands to executive vice president and CEO Stephen Jones.
Parsons is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. Fed up with a lack of progress in contract negotiations, Parsons has decided that he’d like a fresh start before the 2025 campaign kicks off.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the blockbuster Khalil Mack trade between the Oakland Raiders and the Chicago Bears in 2018 is a potential template for what it would cost another team to acquire Parsons.
Before the 2018 season began, the Bears acquired the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year and two picks (a second and a conditional fifth-rounder) in exchange for two first-round selections (2019 and 2020), third and sixth-round selections. Mack then signed a $141 million contract extension.
A potential trade comp for Micah Parsons: When 27-year-old Khalil Mack was traded from Oakland to Chicago, the Bears gave up two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick for Mack, a second-round pick, and a conditional fifth-round pick.
Now the 26-year-old… pic.twitter.com/tne8jxdXMS
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 1, 2025
Mack was only 27 at the time, as Schefter noted, whereas Parsons is about to enter his age-26 season. Mack had recorded 10.5 or more sacks in three straight years before the trade, and Parsons already has 52.5 sacks over four seasons.
Given Micah Parsons’ all-world production and young age, it’s safe to say that it would cost a team at least two first-round picks to land the Cowboys’ superstar. And then they’ll have to be ready to dish out well over $100 million on a contract extension.
Players of Parsons’ caliber don’t come around very often, so the Cowboys will have no problems finding multiple interested parties for the All-Pro linebacker if they decide to trade him.
Any team with the salary cap space and resources could have interest in Parsons. The Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers are just a handful of teams who stand out as logical landing spots for the Penn State product.
