San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 10 worst trades in franchise history

No. 2: 49ers shift NFC balance of power to Cowboys with Charles Haley

San Francisco knew it had a future Hall of Famer within its ranks with EDGE Charles Haley during the late 1980s. The former fourth-round NFL Draft pick out of James Madison turned into a perennial 10-sack player who would always threaten to lead the league in sacks any given year.

Despite his talents, though, Haley generally wasn’t liked within the 49ers locker room. Numerous run-ins with fellow players and the coaching staff began to take their toll in the early 1990s, and it was becoming evidently clear the situation was no longer tenable.

So that led to the Niners executing one of those trades that forever shifted the balance of power within the conference, moving Haley to the Dallas Cowboys in August of 1992 for a second- and third-round NFL Draft pick the following year.

That move proved to be the final piece the Cowboys needed to take over from San Francisco’s own dynasty.

Haley would go on to win three Super Bowl rings in Dallas after securing two already with the 49ers, and he also added two more Pro Bowl nods to his already impressive accolade sheet.

More importantly, though, the move essentially signaled the end of the 49ers dynasty. And while the Niners were good enough during the 1990s, it was the Cowboys’ decade to reign supreme.

Thanks largely to this infamous trade.