Last Thursday afternoon, the Packers made one of the biggest moves in the team’s history by trading for Micah Parsons. The Packers traded away their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks and Kenny Clark to acquire the three-time All-Pro pass rusher. The Packers never make moves of this magnitude, and opportunities to acquire a player like Parsons only come around once in a lifetime. But as great as this move is, it will come at a cost.

Before diving in, let’s get one thing straight - this was a tremendous move by the Packers. Parsons is only 26 years old, has already been named to multiple All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and is just entering his prime. In addition to trading for Parsons, the Packers signed him to a four-year, $186 million contract in new money. With the existing year of his contract included, it’s essentially a five-year, $210 million contract. It was a large cost to acquire Parsons, but one that should be well worth it.

Parsons is one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the game. Not only that, he’s also versatile. He’s not just a hand-in-the-dirt pass rusher. He can generate pressure from anywhere on the field. Parsons has earned a PFF pass-rush grade of 91.6 or higher in each of his four seasons. He’s recorded double-digit sacks every year, and his pass-rush win rate is consistently among the best in the league. He is the epitome of a game-changer.

dude come on pic.twitter.com/wqEUDXcp9z

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) August 30, 2025

That said, paying any player of Parsons’ caliber is expensive. This isn’t the MLB, where owners can pay players anything they want. In the NFL, teams simply can't do that. The NFL still has a salary cap, and the Packers won't be able to pay every single player they want. This reality leads creates some questions without clear answers:

• Can the Packers re-sign any of their expiring contracts?
• Will they be able to be as active in free agency?
• Can the Packers extend any of their current players?
• Will the Packers have to release any of their core members?

Micah Parsons becoming a Packer is some of the most exciting Packers’ news in years, but there will be a domino effect that follows.

Leading Up to the Deal

Several key decisions ultimately enabled the Packers to make the move for Parsons. Back on May 1st, the Packers declined Quay Walker’s fifth-year option, which makes him a free agent after the 2025 season. That said, general manager Brian Gutekunst has remained adamant that they want to work something out with Walker long term. During his annual Packer Transplants interview with Cheesehead TV’s own Corey Behnke and Aaron Nagler, Gutekunst shared, "The only reason we didn't do the fifth-year option is a lot of the outside linebackers are calculated into that number, so it didn't make a lot of sense. We're going down that (extension) road with him as well to see if we can make that happen as well."

The Packers also were navigating a contract issue with Elgton Jenkins throughout the offseason. Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com shared, “Jenkins confirmed he hoped for a reworked contract, which sources said was aimed at guaranteeing some of the remaining money on the final two years of his deal.” Jenkins’ current deal has non-guaranteed base salaries of $11.7 million in 2025 and $18.5 million in 2026. With two years remaining on his current contract, Jenkins was seeking more guaranteed money, but the Packers provided no assurances that they would rework his contract. 

Had the Packers acted on either of these moves, there’s a chance they wouldn’t have been able to make the move for Parsons. The Packers had already spent substantial cash this offseason on what they had to give players like Aaron Banks, Nate Hobbs, Matthew Golden, and Zach Tom. Unlike the other NFL teams, the Packers don’t have a billionaire owner with bottomless pockets. The Packers are fortunate to be in very healthy financial standing, but the cash has to come from somewhere, and the funds aren't unlimited. Could the Packers have extended Walker and Jenkins and then still traded Parsons? Maybe, but it would've been tricky. Sometimes the best moves are the moves that aren’t made. 

A Closer Look at the Contract

No matter how the contract is broken down, the bottom line is the Packers are spending a lot of money on Micah Parsons. With one year remaining on his rookie contract, Parsons signed a four-year, $186 million contract extension with a $44 million signing bonus, $120 million due at signing, and a total of $136 million guaranteed. The contract will take him through his age-30 season in Green Bay. 

The extension itself comes with an average annual value (AAV) of $46.5 million. Over the next five seasons, Parsons will have an AAV of $42 million per season. Either way, it’s top-of-the-market money for one of the league’s most elite pass rushers.

While the deal on paper is for five seasons, the Packers will have to rework the contract eventually. It operates more like a three-year deal. Based on the contract structure, the Packers will have to reevaluate the contract after the 2027 season. Parsons’ base salary for the first three years of the deal is very team-friendly, and the dead cap numbers are exponential. Then, once 2028 comes around, the base salary and cap hit numbers skyrocket, while the dead cap numbers become much more favorable for the Packers. The Packers will have to rework the contract at that point.

In a world where Parsons and the Packers don’t work out, the first real opportunity for the Packers to move on would be before the 2028 season. If the Packers wanted to move on, they could release or trade Parsons and save up to $55.4886 million with only $17.6 million in dead cap. The hope is that Parsons is a Packer for the foreseeable future, but the same was said about players like Za’Darius Smith, De’Vondre Campbell, and Jaire Alexander. The Packers ended up moving on early from all three.

For a more detailed breakdown, check out James Reynolds’ piece from Saturday that dives into the specifics of the deal.

Upcoming Decisions

Whenever you give a player a top-of-the-market contract, concessions will have to be made somewhere. According to Spotrac, the Packers are projected to have about $36,166,448 in cap space for 2026. That sounds like quite a bit, but that will disappear quickly. While there are estimations that the salary cap could rise to $290-$300 million in 2026, the Packers still aren’t going to be able to pay everyone. The question now becomes: who will stay and who will go?

Looking ahead, the Packers have three players with alarming salary cap numbers in 2026: Elgton Jenkins ($24.8 million), Aaron Banks ($24.85 million), and Rashan Gary ($28 million). The Packers aren’t going to let these numbers stay as they are right now. Jenkins’ contract is the likeliest to be addressed, and the most likely option might be releasing him. An extension is also an option, although that seems unlikely. If Jenkins becomes an All-Pro caliber center, the Packers may have to reconsider, but 2025 looks like it will be his last season as a Packer. Not to mention, it seems unlikely the Packers would move on from Banks after just signing him this past March. Either way, it’s hard to fathom the Packers paying almost $50 million combined for a guard and a center. 

While Rashan Gary might be one of the biggest beneficiaries on the field of Micah Parsons joining the team, he may also be expendable after 2025. Regardless of how strong a 2025 season Gary has, it’s unlikely the Packers will let him play the 2026 season with a cap number of over $28 million. The Packers could try and keep him around for 2026 and beyond by extending him and lowering his cap number, or they could also opt to trade or release him (although an outright release is more likely). The Packers would carry over $17 million in dead cap if they released Gary, but they would save over $10 million in cap space. With Parsons on one edge of the defense, the Packers could simply opt to go young and cheap at the other edge. Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox, and Collin Oliver are all younger and would cost far less money. 

As the Packers sort through potential cap casualties and which contracts need reworking, they will also have to navigate how they want to approach the expiring contracts. As young as the Packers have been over the last three seasons, those rookie contracts are nearing their end, including the contracts of quite a few key players.

One thing is known: the Packers will not bring back all 17 players listed above. Even if they could pull it off financially, they wouldn’t. There are some notable names on the lists, though. Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Rasheed Walker, Sean Rhyan, and Quay Walker have been vital to the Packers' success over the last several seasons. But the Packers have positioned themselves well to endure the losses of any of them. Each one has an interesting case to bring back, but they all could be on their way out the door. 

Doubs has played in 43 games for the Packers over the last three years. He has been a constant for Jordan Love. Watson brings an element to the offense that no one else can replicate, but he’s frequently injured. The Packers invested draft capital by taking Matthew Golden and Savion Williams. They will also have Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks still on the roster. With four competent receivers on the roster, the Packers can’t afford to spend substantial money to bring either player back for 2026. 

Rasheed Walker and Rhyan have been reliable components on the Packers' offensive line. The Packers invested draft assets into Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton. The offensive tackle market is booming, and if Rasheed Walker hits the open market, he’s going to get paid. Rhyan may earn a big payday, similar to when Jon Runyan Jr. left for the New York Giants. If the Packers were to move on from Jenkins, they might use those savings and consider bringing Rhyan back. It seems increasingly likely that the 2026 offensive line may look drastically different.

Quay Walker is the most interesting case. Gutekunst has mentioned several times his desire to extend Quay Walker, and it’s doubtful the addition of Parsons altered that. That may not even be an option anymore, though. Based on the current linebacker market, Walker could command a contract worth anywhere from $10 to $20 million per year. Walker wouldn’t earn a top-of-the-market deal, but at only 25 years old, he wouldn’t be cheap. Ty’Ron Hopper has also shown throughout the preseason that he could play a more prominent role. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Packers let Walker walk in free agency next offseason.

The Packers will still be able to retain some players on both lists. Guys like Emanuel Wilson, Chris Brooks, and Zayne Anderson wouldn't require big financial commitments, but all of that money adds up. The lists of unrestricted free agents and restricted free agents are long. Each player the Packers decide to retain will come at a cost, whether it be large or small. And that doesn't even include the list of players who will be heading into the final year of their contracts.

The Packers clearly think highly of all of these players, but the Packers will have to let several of them walk. Per NFL rules, the Packers can extend any player with three or more years of accrued service, but there’s no way they can extend all of them. Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed are among the players who will be eligible. The Packers only completely one rookie extension this offseason (Zach Tom), so it will be interesting to see if they will explore any rookie extensions next offseason. Tucker Kraft is the most likely candidate to earn a rookie extension, but now with Parsons' contract on the books, that may have to wait.

How Will the Dominoes Fall?

Being able to make these decisions is a champagne problem. The opportunity to trade for and pay a player like Micah Parsons is an opportunity that doesn't come along every day. Navigating the aftermath of the contract is a trade-off that every GM (other than Jerry Jones) would take. It’s a privilege. But the Packers will be forced to make concessions elsewhere. The only two Packers who aren't going anywhere are Parsons and Jordan Love, but those are the types of players most franchises want to build around.

Micah Parsons has been a star since entering the NFL:

⭐ 94.3 pass rush grade (2nd)
⭐ 21.3% win rate (2nd)
⭐ 19.7% pressure rate (1st)

The No. 7 player and No. 2 EDGE on the PFF50 pic.twitter.com/U4THdk3AVu

— PFF (@PFF) July 18, 2025

Predicting how the Packers will move forward is impossible. No one knows how they plan to address free agency next summer or if they will hand out a few extensions. The reality is that there are existing 25+ contracts that need addressing, and hard decisions will have to be made. The Packers will have to say goodbye to some really good players and leaders in the locker room. They may also have to get even more creative with their salary cap. Will they have to kick some money down the road to retain certain players? It's possible. Luckily, the Packers remain in good hands. Gutekunst can find talent year after year and navigate some difficult salary cap situations. These are all difficult decisions, and Gutekunst is probably ecstatic to make them.