A day after Green Bay’s blockbuster acquisition of edge rusher Micah Parsons, a legendary NFL executive was riding an emotional high.
“I feel so good. I’m so excited about it,” said Carmen Policy, who built championship teams with the San Francisco 49ers and is pulling for his son to do the same with the Packers. “I think it’s great that the group up there is willing to think outside the box. I have a lot of faith in what they’re assembling.”
The Packers, with Ed Policy as president, made a stunning move Thursday in acquiring Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for first round picks in 2026 and ’27 and three-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark.
For the elder Policy, the aggressive transaction was reminiscent of the buy-now-pay-later philosophy in 1994 of the 49ers, who went on a big-money shopping spree to collect top-shelf free agents to build their Super Bowl-winning roster. That included plucking star linebacker Ken Norton Jr. from the Cowboys, who had beaten San Francisco in the previous two NFC championships.
In luring talent with lots of guaranteed money on the front end, Carmen Policy and Hall of Fame owner Eddie DeBartolo found a loophole in the salary cap which the NFL had just implemented.
“The salary cap was designed to actually disrupt the 49ers — and the Washington Redskins — but primarily us,” Policy said by phone Friday. “They devised the rules with, ‘How do we change this so the 49ers can’t do it.’ Which, in a way, was a compliment. But what we did was salvage our veteran team and then load up, because we couldn’t tolerate losing to Dallas three times in a row. We knew if we got to the Super Bowl we’d win. It was inexcusable and insufferable.”
The situation isn’t precisely parallel, but Policy sees similar risk taking in the Packers’ move. And not surprisingly, he’s proud of his son who worked his way up from Arena League executive to general counsel of the Packers to team president and chief executive.
“I see him as a much better executive than me,” Carmen Policy said. “I think Ed is really capable of running a public company. He’s smart, he’s disciplined, he’s focused. I would say he’s less inclined to take risks than I was. He’s good with people and he’s patient.
“He’s going to work with his people and give them the leeway they deserve. But ultimately, it has to pencil out in the end. Now we’re hoping, fingers crossed, that this pencils out in the end, meaning a Super Bowl.”
The elder Policy, who later was president and part-owner of the Cleveland Browns, said this transaction is not only good for the Packers but for the NFL as a whole.
“This is a blessing for the league,” he said. “They can point to the smallest market and say this community-owned team without a billionaire owner can still compete with New York, L.A. and Dallas. It speaks so well for competitive balance and how far the league has come.
“And suddenly, you’re not hearing players complain about going to Wisconsin in the winter, as opposed to Manhattan or Manhattan Beach. It puts competitive balance on display.”