FRISCO, Texas – Sometimes you gotta be careful what you wish for.

Right, Micah?

Might have been a negotiating ploy this asking for a trade, insisting you didn’t want to be here anymore. Might have been just following agent rhetoric. You know, can’t get your way negotiating a contract extension, ask to be traded, then post this long goodbye on your social media accounts.

Oops: Ask, and in this case, you shall receive. Turn in your Star for a Cheesehead.

Wonder who is more shocked at this turn of events? The Cowboys fan out there, along with some naïve media members, or Micah himself, who over time, and not just spanning these past several months after turning his back on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones initial offer they shook hands over but stretching across the last several years while simultaneously leading the team in sacks but also in annoyances.

And when his agent’s contract demands stubbornly became somewhat outrageous, this simmering underbelly reared its ugly head. Bad combination.

Now, Jerry Jones certainly said all the right things during the some 40-minute press conference Thursday night after peddling Parsons to Green Bay for a first-round draft choice in 2026 and 2027, along with three-time veteran Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who, by the way, couldn’t have been a happier camper when he arrived here on Friday with his wife and kids in tow, met by Jerry Jones on the Love Field tarmac that morning.

See, to me, the most shocking development of this trade is this: Jerry Jones didn’t have to do this. There is no existing deadline to sign a player under contract to an extension. Talks could have gone on – er, strike that – could have resumed at any time throughout the season. As far as the Cowboys were concerned, and the NFL, too, that the Cowboys picked up his fifth-year option at the $21 million level meant he was theirs for another season if an extension wasn’t reached. Plus, there could have been two franchise tags to extend their rights control for a total of three years.

That would have meant no signing bonus. Just 18 weekly paychecks over three seasons. No sweat off Jerry’s pocketbook. That would be like leasing a pass rusher with Micah’s only recourse being to withhold services.

But then the CBA would afford the trump card there, too. The Cowboys were nearing the point of placing him on Conduct Detrimental to the Team for refusing to practice and potentially play in regular season games. That list would mean you aren’t getting paid. And this week and any ensuing weeks over the course of the 18-week season would have amounted to $1.2 million a game.

So again, there was no existing hammer to get a deal done. Or, better yet, to concede the asking price, if we are to assume the initial agent numbers are accurately totaling like $46.5 a year. But in essence, if you look at the deal, this very well could be a three-year, $123 million deal if the Packers are willing to absorb $17.6 million in dead money to escape the final two.

The Packers had to include this year’s guaranteed $21 million fifth-year option the Cowboys had guaranteed that they now can stuff back into their remaining salary cap availability for this season. That means in actual cash, this Packers deal comes to a five-year, $210 million deal. Now, do the simple math. Divide $210 by five, and we get an average of $42 million a year.

What? Sure sounds like pretty darn close to Jerry’s handshake offer of $41 million. And again, not being any sort of accountant, but if you look it up, Wisconsin state income tax in 7.6 percent. Texas? Zero.

So what the heck? Why did this end the way it did?

Sounds to me, of the Cowboys own volution.

See, ’bout sometime in early August during training camp, when this ordeal kept dragging on, this occurred to me: Maybe Jerry is playing hardball because he really doesn’t want to invest this incredible amount of cap space in guaranteed money on Micah. Maybe he didn’t trust him to do all the things required of someone on a “team” making that kind of dough.

After all, Micah had been working out in the offseasons on his own. Oh, he’d show up for required workouts, but that’s it. Until Jerry began attaching this “leadership” requirement if he was going to invest generational and top-position money in a player. Only then did Micah begin interacting more with his teammates. Don’t think Jerry wasn’t aware of all that. He might be 82 years old, but his eyesight is pretty darn keen.

And woe unto Micah if paying attention to others. Like, remember the remarks made by Malik Hooker in the offseason or those from DeMarcus Lawrence upon his arrival in Seattle. To me, there just seemed to be much hesitation on the Cowboys part to acquiesce to whatever numbers his agent eventually wanted to post, seemingly helping his own cause more than Micah’s bank account in the end.

And that brings us to the trade, the one Jerry denied being willing to do in training camp. Of course, he did. The last thing you ever want to do is let it be known you are trying to trade away an asset, the cardinal sin in the business world. That means you will start getting offers of 50-cent on the dollar.

Look, I’m not naïve either. Chances are the Cowboys will not have a player on this team to total Micah’s four-year average of 13 sacks. But what about, that word hated around here, “by committee.”

Look at this trade this way. Two first-round draft choices though could be somewhat minimized by the position of the picks since an 11-6 Packers teams this past season figures to be a playoff team a third consecutive year. But think package, since they do have first-round picks of their own, meaning four over the next two seasons. Enough ammunition to then spend a second or third to maneuver around in the first for better positioning.

Then Kenny Clark, and if first off-field impressions count, this guy will be a hit. Not only in front of the media, but in the locker room as a wise teammate being the elder statesman on the defense, with nine years of NFL experience and turning 30 on Oct. 4.

“My game speaks for itself,” Clark says after being asked if his presence on the field compensates for the loss of Parsons. “No matter what anybody else feels, to me that’s no concern. I’m here to play football. I’m a football player, I’m a dog, and this is what I do.”

And this part doesn’t show up on the NFL waiver wire either. The Cowboys stuffed Micah’s $21 million guarantee back into their salary cap total, bumping their available amount to $40 million. That’s enough to go out prospecting for free agents or trades. Plus, think about what can be done with that yearly average of $41 million that would have been devoted to the Parsons extension.

Think Tyler Smith extension, his fifth-year option coming into effect in 2026. The Cowboys also would like to extend DaRon Bland. What about wrapping up George Pickens if his season coincides with his initial impressions? Oh, and how about making Brandon Aubrey the highest paid kicker.

Now listen to head coach Brian Schottenheimer when asked about how do the Cowboys qualify trading away a guy who has average 13 sacks a season.

“I would say Micah is an incredible player, nobody disputes that,” he begins. “He’s a great player. But this the ultimate team game. We’re not going to win a championship with just one person. It’s going to take variations of the 69 guys-plus that we have on this roster. And injuries are a big part of this. And we’ve built our depth, and we’ve done those things.

“Again, at the end of the day this is the greatest team sport in the world, and to do that you have to have pieces in place. I think we have a lot of really good players in place.”

All that needs to be included when considering the trade stash received. Take a moment to think about all this when this trade dust has settled, ignoring that less than 24-hour supposed “unthinkable” reaction laced with emotion.

Just remember, the Cowboys didn’t have to make this trade. They were not backed into a corner, forcing them to do something they would have chosen not to do. They could recklessly have bought their way out of this ordeal by overpaying Parsons financially, yet they chose not to. And it’s not as if the Packers knocked their socks off with this offer, since, you know, I thought maybe they could get the two firsts and two legit starters instead of just one.

They chose to do this. Even opened their ears to, according to them, multiple trade offers. They chose the Packers.

All in all, tells me trading Micah to the Packers had more to do with ancillary considerations than getting backed into a financial corner that did not exist. More to do than risking a sack deficit. Or overzealously making an attempt to stop the run. Or to grant what Micah indicated he wished for.

Looks as if they didn’t trust making this long-term investment with this player.