Thomas82
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.....in 1989, the most lopsided trade in NFL history happened. In a heist known as The Great Trade Robbery, the Cowboys sent Herschel Walker and 4 draft picks to the Vikings for 5 veteran players and 8 draft picks.
The Vikings outsmarted themselves in this transaction, assuming that the Cowboys would fall in love with those veterans because they were better than anything they already had on the team. It turned out that each of those players had a draft value assigned to them, and if they were released from the Cowboys by February 1, 1990, the team would receive the assigned conditional picks, turning the Vikings package into 19 players. They even paid Herschel Walker a $1.25M exit bonus to accept the trade.
As a result of this trade, the Cowboys ended up with players like Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, Alvin Harper, Kevin Smith, Russell Maryland, and Clayton Holmes who were key contributors to those 1990's Super Bowl teams. Out of the picks the Vikings got in the trade, Jake Reed was the only one that made any kind of real impact.
In his debut with the Vikings, Herschel Walker had 18 carries for 148 yards, but not a whole lot after that. He never had a 1,000-yard season for the Vikings, and they moved on from him after the 1991 season. He went on to play for the Eagles for 3 years and the Giants for a year, then went back to the Cowboys for the last 2 years of his career before retiring after the 1997 season. That trade had lasting effects for both teams, setting one up for a dynasty and setting the other one back for years.
The Vikings outsmarted themselves in this transaction, assuming that the Cowboys would fall in love with those veterans because they were better than anything they already had on the team. It turned out that each of those players had a draft value assigned to them, and if they were released from the Cowboys by February 1, 1990, the team would receive the assigned conditional picks, turning the Vikings package into 19 players. They even paid Herschel Walker a $1.25M exit bonus to accept the trade.
As a result of this trade, the Cowboys ended up with players like Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, Alvin Harper, Kevin Smith, Russell Maryland, and Clayton Holmes who were key contributors to those 1990's Super Bowl teams. Out of the picks the Vikings got in the trade, Jake Reed was the only one that made any kind of real impact.
In his debut with the Vikings, Herschel Walker had 18 carries for 148 yards, but not a whole lot after that. He never had a 1,000-yard season for the Vikings, and they moved on from him after the 1991 season. He went on to play for the Eagles for 3 years and the Giants for a year, then went back to the Cowboys for the last 2 years of his career before retiring after the 1997 season. That trade had lasting effects for both teams, setting one up for a dynasty and setting the other one back for years.
