Report: How the Vikings made the Dalvin Cook contract work

How did the Vikings actually get the deal for Minnesota running back Dalvin Cook to work?

The saga between the Vikings and Dalvin Cook reaching a new agreement on a deal is finally over.

The team and Cook agreed to a five-year, $63 million extension with over $28 million guaranteed, per Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Vikings team account corroborated the report that there was an extension on Twitter.

That’s great news for the on-field product. The Vikings are a run-heavy team and Cook is a known commodity at running back.

But based on the Vikings salary cap under the regular season rules, and the steep price of Cook’s extension, there is one question that inevitably comes up: How did the Vikings make this work out?

According to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, Minnesota converted Eric Kendricks’ contract into a signing bonus in order to make the Cook deal happen.

Goessling also reported that Cook received a $15.5 million signing bonus, the most of a non-quarterback in franchise history.