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In a shocking trade on Thursday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys dealt Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Parsons also signed a four-year, $188 million extension with Green Bay, which — at $47 million average annual salary — makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

It also completely shifted expectations for both the Packers and the Cowboys in the betting world — from Week 1 lines to the NFC North to Super Bowl futures. 

At BetMGM sportsbooks, Green Bay moved from 22-1 (10th-best odds) to win Super Bowl 60 to 13-1 (sixth-best). Dallas, on the other hand, moved down from 50-1 odds to 60-1, and is now tied with the Seattle Seahawks. Those represent Dallas' worst preseason Super Bowl odds since 2014, when the Cowboys were 75-1, per Sports Odds History.

"We moved Green Bay from 20-1 to 12-1 [to win the Super Bowl]," Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told Yahoo Sports in a text message. "The Packers need to get a passing game, but long-term they should be better than Detroit."

In Week 1, Green Bay moved from a 1.5-point home favorite against the Detroit Lions to -2.5 and the Cowboys moved from consensus 7-point underdogs at the Philadelphia Eagles to 7.5-point 'dogs — although there are still many 7s out there.

"Think the Packers are definitely in play for the championship," Lamarr Mitchell, director of trading at MGM Resorts, said. "If Jordan Love stays upright and healthy, they should be in the mix to win [the Super Bowl]."

Green Bay's win total remained at 9.5 and Dallas' at 7.5, but there was juice added on the Cowboys under and Packers over at sportsbooks. Green Bay also moved into the position of NFC North favorite at sportsbooks, ahead of the Lions. Green Bay was +170 to win the NFC North at BetMGM, while Detroit moved to +200.

Handicappers certainly weren't impressed with what the trade did for the Dallas defense.

"The Dallas defense is now 32nd," Drew Dinsick, handicapper at NBC Sports Bet, texted Yahoo Sports. "Generally think this [deal] makes sense for both teams, as Cowboys were going nowhere with Parsons and now they accelerate their rebuild, while the Packers materially increase their title chances in the next three years."

The trade helped Green Bay move up to No. 3 overall in Dinsick's overall NFL power ratings, and second in the NFC behind only Philadelphia. Green Bay is now tied with Detroit for the second-best odds to win the NFC (+650 at BetMGM), behind the Eagles (+350).

"The defense in Green Bay should look a lot different, as Edgerrin Cooper is up about 29 pounds and was sneaky good last year when allowed to rush, as well as in coverage," Adam Chernoff, NFL handicapper, told Yahoo Sports. "Parsons allows Rashan Gary, who was a Pro Bowler last year, to not have to be on the edge so much and play more stopping the run, where he is great. Pretty big win for Green Bay here."

The Cowboys already had a win total of just 7.5, their lowest since 2003, so expectations weren't high in the betting market for Dallas. While the deal may help them in the future, it certainly makes it tougher this season.

"I didn't have high expectations for them this season, but always hurts when your franchise trades the best player on the roster," Rob Pizzola, NFL handicapper and CEO of The Hammer Betting Network, told Yahoo Sports. "I can see why they wouldn't meet his demand. He is an elite player, but Cowboys are truly not in 'win now' mode and it does make sense to recoup some valuable assets for him. Huge get for the Packers, though — exactly the type of player they needed."

One BetMGM wagered $10,000 on the Cowboys to win the NFC at 25-1 odds this offseason, well before the Parsons trade. The Cowboys are now 30-1 to win the conference.

We won't have to wait long for a reunion, either, as Parsons' Packers will travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys in Week 4. Green Bay is currently a 2.5-point road favorite at sportsbooks.

On Thursday, Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark likely received a phone call and learned he was the other side of the biggest trade in recent NFL history.

In exchange for Clark and two first-round picks, the Packers received Micah Parsons, a generational pass-rusher who figures to anchor their defense for years to come. It's a move leaves questions for the Cowboys that go beyond the field of play, most notably surrounding the decision-making of owner/general manager Jerry Jones.

Those questions should be answered in time, but for now, the Cowboys have a new defensive lineman. At 314 pounds, Clark is not a 1-to-1 replacement for Parsons, a faster edge-rusher, but he will still face plenty of responsibilities — and scrutiny — in the middle of the Dallas defense.

Kenny Clark, a former first-round pick who stuck in Green Bay

A Southern California native and an all-conference player at UCLA, Clark was sent to north to Wisconsin in the 2016 NFL Draft, with the Packers selecting him 27th overall. 

Since then, he has been as solid as they come for the Green Bay defense, playing at least 13 games in every season of his nine-year career and not missing a game since Week 15 of the 2021 season. Over that time he has earned three Pro Bowl nods while accruing 417 career total tackles.

Clark also brings 11 games of playoff experience to the table. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he will be missed:

“We want to thank Kenny for the incredible impact he made in the locker room, on the field and in the community during his nine seasons in Green Bay. From the time he arrived in 2016, Kenny established himself as one of the top defensive tackles in the league and in the history of this franchise with his production, durability and leadership. He had the respect of everyone in the organization and epitomized what it meant to be a Green Bay Packer. Kenny will be greatly missed, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future."

Clark is particularly known for stopping the run, which is pretty much why he's on his way to Dallas.

Jerry Jones has high hopes for Kenny Clark

As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended the Parsons trade to reporters for more than 45 minutes on Thursday, he made quite clear he believes that Clark can make the team even better in the short term than it would have been with Parsons on the field.

"We did think it was in the best interest of our organization — not only the future, but right now, this season as well. We've gained a Pro Bowl player in an area that we had big concerns in, the inside of our defense.

“The facts are, specifically, we need to stop the run. We haven’t been able to stop the run at key times for several years."

Stacy Revere via Getty Images

Jones added that the team was looking into adding a run-stopping defensive tackle in the vein of Clark in the spring, while his son Stephen Jones said the team believes Clark's contributions to the run game can outweigh the loss of Parsons' pass-rushing:

"The frustration is that we haven't been able to win the big game in the playoffs and we think it is a direct connection to not being able to stop the run. We think Kenny Clark's going to be a big piece to that and we felt like because of our depth on the edge, as well as the ability to scheme pressure, that we could make up for Micah."

We'll see if that works out for him. Pro Football Focus ranked Clark as the No. 43 run defender among 114 interior defensive lineman last season and No. 53 overall. He turns 30 years old on Oct. 4.

Kenny Clark will be making some decent money in the next couple seasons

At 29 years old, Clark has already made more than $100 million playing for the Packers. He'll be adding to that number considerably with the Cowboys, as his contract — three years, $64 million starting this season — comes with cap numbers of $21.5 million in 2026 and $20 million in 2027.

He has a manageable number for this year, though, with only $3 million.