The Green Bay Packers, to the enthusiasm of their fan base, traded for All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons right before the start of the 2025 NFL season. In addition to sending Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first round picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Parsons, they also gave their new star a four-year $186 million contract extension.
This extension, which will start in 2026 as he played the 2025 NFL season on the fifth year option Dallas previously exercised, made him one of the highest-paid defensive players in league history.
It also means that his salary will be a huge limitation on Green Bay’s salary cap for the next four years (not that the team minds). The NFL, of course, has a hard salary cap, meaning that its teams cannot exceed its limit in any way.
This is a stark contract from both Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, who have different ways of trying to limit spending.
Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons responds to MLB star Kyle Tucker getting $240 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers
Earlier this week, it was reported that the high-spending Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball signed Kyle Tucker, formerly of the Chicago Cubs, to a four-year $240 million. This deal will pay the All-Star outfielder $60 million a season. It also set Los Angeles’ payroll for the 2026 season at well over $413 million, nearly $180 million over MLB’s luxury tax threshold.
Indeed, many baseball fans are fearful that there will not be a MLB season in 2027 as owners and the players union argue over whether the league should have a salary cap.
For his part, Parsons seems to think that the NFL’s way of doing things is what makes it the superior profession sports league in the United States:
This is why football is the greatest sport in the world! https://t.co/D9f7MBJ2b2
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) January 16, 2026
Indeed, the NFL is the most popular of the professional sports leagues in America, and it is not really that particularly close.
According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 41% of Americans prefer watching the NFL, whereas 10% named MLB and only 9% stated the NBA.
And while a salary cap in baseball may not be the trick that helps it catch the NFL in popularity, it may make the league more balance and, therefore, draw more casual viewers.
More Green Bay Packers news from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Matt LaFleur poised for a new deal as Packers seem to target stability
- Packers legend Donald Driver sparks wellness movement at Alcorn State
- New footage of Keisean Nixon’s “business decision” vs Bears emerges
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