Revisiting the Cowboys-Vikings Herschel Walker Trade That Gifted Dallas 3 Super Bowls

Herschel Walker got his start in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, but he wasn't a part of any of the team's three Super Bowl runs in the 1990's. In fact, his absence in Dallas is a major reason they got there at all.

Walker was fresh off his first 1,000-yard rushing season with the Cowboys when they opted to trade him to the Vikings in October 1989. At the time, Dallas appeared to be the loser of the trade for letting go of one of the league's most productive halfbacks, but it was this trade that ultimately helped the Boys win three Super Bowl titles in the years to come. Just about every observer initally thought the trade was lopsided in Minnesota's favor, but it was Big D that came out on top.

The Cowboys received five players and three draft picks(!) in exchange for the two-time Pro Bowler, and the Vikings were dumb enough to promise conditional draft picks for each of the players in case they were cut or traded. Sure enough, those conditions were met, and Dallas had eight (!!) extra-high-end picks at their disposal over the next three seasons.

The Cowboys wound up selecting running back Emmitt Smith, defensive tackle Russell Maryland, safety Darren Woodson and cornerback Kevin Smith, among others, to help build a solid core of young players that won three championships, beginning with a blowout victory over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII in January 1993.

NFL junkies will always remember this trade as one of the most consequential and ultimately lopsided in league history, but its end result and return for the supposed losers was even more surprising. While Dallas won all three of its Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s, the Vikings didn't make a single one.