One of the final questions that Lions GM Brad Holmes fielded during his press conference on Thursday morning involved any potential contract extension for star EDGE Aidan Hutchinson. It proved to be a timely question, as the dynamic of what Hutchinson’s next contract might look like changed in just a few short hours.
“Nothing’s changed from our end, in terms of the importance of getting something done,” Holmes stated regarding talks with Hutchinson. “We have had dialogue. That has started. So we’ll just kind of see where it goes. In terms of the level of importance, that has not changed. It is very important.”
Those negotiations took on more importance later in the day when the market value for Hutchinson and the top of the pass rusher market was reset. The Green Bay Packers traded two first-round picks and a quality starting defensive tackle in Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for standout pass rusher Micah Parsons.
As part of the deal, the Packers are paying Parsons a record-setting contract extension worth $188 million over four years. Reliable reports indicate $136 million, or 72 percent, of that $188 million is guaranteed at signing. Parsons was set to play 2025 on the fifth-year option on his rookie deal as the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. That option was worth just over $24 million.
Mr. Holmes, the bar for Hutchinson has been set.
Parsons is a year ahead of Hutchinson in the NFL career cycle, and a year older — Parsons turned 26 in March, Hutchinson turned 25 in early August. In Dallas, Parsons was more productive than Hutchinson, too; his “worst” season was 2024, when the new Packers EDGE bagged 12 sacks and forced two fumbles in 13 games. He’s racked up at least 12 sacks in all four of his seasons and finished in the top three of the Defensive Player of the Year twice, including as a rookie.
Hutchinson was on pace for all that in his third season before a broken leg, ironically suffered in Detroit’s blowout win over Dallas in Week 6. No. 97 bagged 11.5 sacks and 7 PDs in 2023, a season where he and Parsons accrued the same number of QB Hits (33).
The stat sheet and awards slate say Parsons is a better player than Hutchinson at this point. But NFL contracts don’t strictly rely on those metrics for compensation. Much like the housing market, time and nearby comps matter more. The Lions did a great job getting in front of the market with Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown, being the basis for the pending wave of new deals.
Take St. Brown. When he signed a contract extension just ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, the Lions’ Saint became the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. 14 months later, he’s now eighth on the WR compensation list. Being the team that set the market has already saved Detroit millions in cap room, not to mention any unsavory conversations about “quienes mas macho” in negotiations. That’s great business by Holmes & Co.
Now they have to chase the Packers and their preemptive strike with Parsons. The Bengals had already started the escalation with a tepid one-year, $30 million extension with disgruntled standout Trey Hendrickson. Parsons blows that away at $47 million per year–money Hendrickson will likely seek next spring when he hits free agency.
Hutchinson and his representation will be looking for that kind of compensation more immediately. The Lions can counter that Parsons has been more productive for more seasons, and they’re not wrong in that assessment. But contracts are about what the player will do during the coming years, not what they’ve done for you already. Hutchinson’s all-around game is superior to Parsons even if the sacks aren’t there, and a healthy and motivated Hutchinson so thoroughly dominated practices that the Lions — and Dolphins and Texans in joint practices too — that the teams instituted the “Hutch rule” that his quick-strike sacks didn’t end plays because there were so many of them and the offense needed the work. That’s ammunition the Hutchinson camp can fire at the Lions in their quest to get as much money as possible.
Wherever that dialogue Holmes talked about with Hutchinson was, the conversation has now changed. Instead of setting the market, the Lions now have to worry about negotiating with their most important defensive player from a position of less power and leverage. It will almost certainly cost them, unfortunately.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: How Micah Parsons contract changes Aidan Hutchinson extension talks