Prisco Curbstomps Haslam

Here's the worst trade in the history of the NFL...and it's not even close

Vikings sent to the Cowboys:
Players:
LB Jesse Solomon, DB Isiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, and DE Alex Stewart.
Draft picks:

First-round pick in 1990.
Second-round pick in 1990.
Sixth-round pick in 1990.
First-round pick in 1991.
Second-round pick in 1991.
First-round pick in 1992.
Second-round pick in 1992.
Third-round pick in 1992.
Third-round pick in 1990
Third-round pick in 1991
10th round pick in 1990
5th round pick

Cowboys sent to the Vikings:
Herschel Walker .
Two third-round picks (1990, 1991).
A fifth-round pick.
A 10th-round pick.

badgervike wrote:
Here's the worst trade in the history of the NFL...and it's not even close

Vikings sent to the Cowboys:
Players:
LB Jesse Solomon, DB Isiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, and DE Alex Stewart.
Draft picks:

First-round pick in 1990.
Second-round pick in 1990.
Sixth-round pick in 1990.
First-round pick in 1991.
Second-round pick in 1991.
First-round pick in 1992.
Second-round pick in 1992.
Third-round pick in 1992.
Third-round pick in 1990
Third-round pick in 1991
10th round pick in 1990
5th round pick

Cowboys sent to the Vikings:
Herschel Walker .
Two third-round picks (1990, 1991).
A fifth-round pick.
A 10th-round pick.

I still remember this getting reported over our Bloomberg terminal at work. And my buddy is listing all the players and I’m like damn that’s a lot but not awful. 

Then he starts listing the picks and I’m like cmon man stop with the bull shit. So I get up and grab the terminal and I’m like WTAF. 

The Watson deal did have the then record for guaranteed money which upset every owner in the league but, yeah the Walker trade is the worst in professional sports bar none.

JustInTime wrote:

I still remember this getting reported over our Bloomberg terminal at work. And my buddy is listing all the players and I’m like damn that’s a lot but not awful. 

Then he starts listing the picks and I’m like cmon man stop with the bull shit. So I get up and grab the terminal and I’m like WTAF. 

The Watson deal did have the then record for guaranteed money which upset every owner in the league but, yeah the Walker trade is the worst in professional sports bar none.

I see what you did there.

My understanding of the picks in the walker trade was that Jimmy Johnson convince Lynn that they needed bodies. But if those players didn't make the roster, they turned into picks. So once the trade was complete, Jimmy cut most of the players and turned them into picks.

It was just stupidity/gullibility on the part of Lynn. If it were just those players, it would have been fine. But the picks built their dynasty.

greediron wrote:
My understanding of the picks in the walker trade was that Jimmy Johnson convince Lynn that they needed bodies.  But if those players didn't make the roster, they turned into picks.  So once the trade was complete, Jimmy cut most of the players and turned them into picks.

It was just stupidity/gullibility on the part of Lynn.  If it were just those players, it would have been fine.  But the picks built their dynasty.

Didn't Darren Nelson refuse to play for the Cowboys?

badgervike wrote:
Here's the worst trade in the history of the NFL...and it's not even close

Vikings sent to the Cowboys:
Players:
LB Jesse Solomon, DB Isiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, and DE Alex Stewart.
Draft picks:

First-round pick in 1990.
Second-round pick in 1990.
Sixth-round pick in 1990.
First-round pick in 1991.
Second-round pick in 1991.
First-round pick in 1992.
Second-round pick in 1992.
Third-round pick in 1992.
Third-round pick in 1990
Third-round pick in 1991
10th round pick in 1990
5th round pick

Cowboys sent to the Vikings:
Herschel Walker .
Two third-round picks (1990, 1991).
A fifth-round pick.
A 10th-round pick.

I decided to ask ChatGPT to assess this trade using a current NFL draft value pick chart. Such charts were not in use at the time but Jimmy Johnson was in the process of inventing the original. If he already had done so he must have laughed his ass off at how bad he took Mike Lynn to the cleaners. Here is the result it gave me:

Comparison of Total Draft Value:
Dallas: 5,598 points
Minnesota: 423 points
Dallas received about 13x more draft value than Minnesota.

No g.m. could make such a trade today, he'd be crucified. Hell even without a draft pick chart, no g.m. in his right mind would make that trade. Someone must have spiked Lynn's coffee with LSD and Ex-Lax then called Jimmy and said strike while the iron is hot.

The actual trade initially wasn't 8 picks. Jimmy made a good move by putting in the trade, if the players the Vikings drafted were not on the roster in 1990, they would turn into draft picks. The Vikings front office made an absolute detrimental deal, which Jimmy knew the whole time. The initial trade was only 3 picks to start with. Turned into 8 when Jimmy had zero intention of having/keepin the players on the roster in 1990.

Here is the breakdown

Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1990
Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1990
Minnesota's 6th round pick in 1990
Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1991 (conditional on cutting Solomon)
Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1991 (conditional on cutting Howard)
Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1992 (conditional on cutting Holt)
Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1992 (condition met by trading away Nelson)
Minnesota's 3rd round pick in 1992 (conditional on cutting Stewart)

comet52 wrote:

I decided to ask ChatGPT to assess this trade using a current NFL draft value pick chart.  Such charts were not in use at the time but Jimmy Johnson was in the process of inventing the original.  If he already had done so he must have laughed his ass off at how bad he took Mike Lynn to the cleaners.  Here is the result it gave me:

Comparison of Total Draft Value:
Dallas: 5,598 points
Minnesota: 423 points
Dallas received about 13x more draft value than Minnesota.

No g.m. could make such a trade today, he'd be crucified.  Hell even without a draft pick chart, no g.m. in his right mind would make that trade.  Someone must have spiked Lynn's coffee with LSD and Ex-Lax then called Jimmy and said strike while the iron is hot.

No GM would, but there’s at least two painfully stupid meddlesome owners who would.

Canthony wrote:
The actual trade initially wasn't 8 picks. Jimmy made a good move by putting in the trade, if the players the Vikings drafted were not on the roster in 1990, they would turn into draft picks. The Vikings front office made an absolute detrimental deal, which Jimmy knew the whole time. The initial trade was only 3 picks to start with. Turned into 8 when Jimmy had zero intention of having/keepin the players on the roster in 1990.

Here is the breakdown

Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1990
Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1990
Minnesota's 6th round pick in 1990
Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1991 (conditional on cutting Solomon)
Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1991 (conditional on cutting Howard)
Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1992 (conditional on cutting Holt)
Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1992 (condition met by trading away Nelson)
Minnesota's 3rd round pick in 1992 (conditional on cutting Stewart)

And don't forget, all this for a guy who didn't fit our offense if memory serves.