YR Base SB OPT W/O GA Cap Dead Cash
25 1.17M 8.8M - - - - - - 9.97M 120M 17M
26 2.376M 8.8M 7.6M .25M .2M 19.237M 110.03M 40.837M
27 3.107M 8.8M 14.88M .25M .2M 26.845M 95.947M 38M
28 40.55M 8.8M 14.88M .25M .2M 64.288M 82.02M 45M
29 43.55M 8.8M 14.88M .25M .2M 68.288M 45.0652M 41M
30 14.88M 21.3772M 21.37M - - -
31 6.888M
90.764M 44M 72.443M 1M .8M 210.007M 210.007
- Parsons is due a $1M roster bonus in 2029, which is not shown in the table for space reasons.
$120M fully guaranteed ($44M SB, 2025 base, 2026 base + 38M option + $34.443M 2027 option.
Rolling guarantees:
- - $3.107M 2027 base becomes fully guaranteed if on the roster in 2026.
- - $16M of 2027/2028 compensations guarantees early, per Spotrac. [Not sure what this means.]
- - $12.9M of 2028 salary fully guarantees if Parsons is on the roster in March of 2027.
Micah Parsons filed a grievance over the proper amount of his 5th year option. Dallas opined that he was a defensive end, so his option would be $21.324M. Parsons contended that he was an outside linebacker so his option should be $24.007M. That is the reason for the .007 at the end of some of the numbers. The contract thus is the $24.007M 5th year option plus four additional years for $186M. If Dallas had given Parsons this exact deal, it would properly be reported at worth $46.5M per year in new money. Since all of the money is new for Green Bay, one might conclude that the deal is $42M per year ($24M + $186M = $210M divided by 5 years = $42.0M).
This certainly looks like a win now contract structure. Parsons' cap number balloons to $64.688M in 2028, which is the same year in which Love's cap number balloons to $75.775M. True, if the salary cap increases by 10% each year, it would be $371M in 2028. Parson's cap hit would be about 17% of the cap (Love's would be a bit over 20%), but those are still high numbers, and it assumes the cap grows by $30M per season. Those percentages may well be optimistic. At present, the only other large contracts on the books for 2028 are Banks at $20M and Zach Tom at $24M.
There really aren't any "easy outs" for a simple release. If the Packers could find a trade partner who would assume the remaining obligations of the contract, I suppose there is the semblance of an possible out after the 2025 season if a GM can be induced to trade a player for whom they paid two first round draft picks and $45M in cash while taking a $35.2M dead money charge. As soon as the Packers start paying those option bonuses, the dead money gets mountainous. If the Packers kept Parsons for 2025 and 2026 (paying the $38M option bonus for 2026), then if they found a team to trade Parsons to prior to having to pay his 2027 compensation, the Packers would be looking a $56.8M dead money hit, or $29.995M in negative cap savings. [I am aware that OTC and Spotrac have radically different numbers for dead money in their tables. I cannot duplicate their figures. Here is a link to Spotrac's numbers.]
Parsons will receive $124.007M over the first three seasons, not the $161M initially reported by Tom Pellisero. Nor does Parsons get $62.4M in the first year as has been reported. Parsons gets $45M, $40.8M and $38M in the first three seasons. The Packers will account for just $56.052M of that $124M. Something will likely happen in 2028 at the latest when the cap numbers balloon.
Looks like Brian Gutekunst did indeed feel some urgency.
Photo courtesy of Peter Tork, USA Today Network