For at least 18 months, Micah Parsons’ Dallas Cowboys contract had been a silent underlying story, reaching its peak this offseason. It finally ended as arguably the best pass rusher of the league lands in Wisconsin for a whopping $188 million/ 4-year contract, including $136 million guaranteed. The Green Bay Packers would certainly gain with his addition after their defense already jumped from 17th to 5th last season. But will Parsons gain much? Apart from being separated from Jerry Jones, ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes, financially, not much would change.

Sharing his findings on X, Schefter wrote, “Some accounting as an fyi: Micah Parsons’ $47 million per year will be subject to Wisconsin’s 7.65% state income tax, reducing his average annual salary to $43.4M per year — still more than the $40.5M average per year that Parsons was offered from the Cowboys in no state income tax Texas.” And this is not it. The Wisconsin jurisdiction, where the Packers are located, has one of the highest state income tax rates with a progressive format. Let’s break it down like this:

• At the Federal level, a single taxpayer with $47 million in annual income will pay approximately $17.3 million in taxes. 
• At the State level, Parsons’ $47 million annual income will land in the highest income levels in Wisconsin’s tax levels. According to that, he will pay approximately $3.5 million in state income taxes this year for his home games.
• According to jock taxes, Parsons will also be paying state taxes, depending on where the road games for the Packers are played this season. However, in this instance, he will not have to pay any state tax.

Calculations, not considering employment and jock taxes, still land Parsons at nearly $26 million per year with the Packers. According to Forbes’ Nathan Goldman, the Cowboys have the fifth-lowest average tax burden once factoring in the guaranteed games every season.

Meanwhile, the Packers come in at 23rd on these rankings. The difference between these two in terms of the average tax rate is over 5%. This means that for every $20 million Parsons earns, he will pay an incremental $1 million in taxes playing for the Packers than the Cowboys. So why did he make the shift? Well, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated seems to have the answer.

It turns out Parsons isn’t a very popular name in the Cowboys locker room. In fact, Breer revealed that Parsons “has rankled teammates in different ways, seen by some as egotistical and self-centered.” Most had issues with his podcast, including star quarterback Dak Prescott, whom Parsons snubbed from his list of top-five QBs in the league last October on his podcast, ‘The Edge with Parsons.’ But things might still have worked if the defensive staff hadn’t had issues with his on-field style.

“Previous defensive staffs had trouble with him at times because he would play out of structure in an effort to make big plays, which led to the run-defense issues Jerry and Stephen Jones kept referencing at their press conference,” wrote Breer. Still, the Cowboys were willing to retain him on their conditions. Parsons also tried one last time before signing with the Packers. But the length of the contract became another issue.

For whatever reason Parsons left Texas, the upcoming season would be difficult for the Cowboys’ defense. Without the four-time Pro Bowler, their defense has been average, and this season, it might end up becoming worse. It will be interesting to see how the season turns out for either of the two.