What Kwesi Adofo-Mensah once called a champagne problem appears to be turning into a headache for the Minnesota Vikings general manager.
Adofo-Mensah was conducting his season-ending press conference in January 2023 when he was asked about the Vikings’ ability to negotiate a contract extension with star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson had just finished another outstanding season, his third in the NFL, opening up the first opportunity for Adofo-Mensah to get a new deal done with the 2020 first-round pick.
“I wouldn’t use the word challenge,” Adofo-Mensah said at the time. “You got a special player, a special person. Those aren’t problems. Or at least those are champagne problems.”
(For those who don’t know, and I certainly didn’t, the term “champagne problems” means problems that aren’t very significant compared to those of other people.)
Just over a year later, it appears the Vikings might have a real issue when it comes to Jefferson’s situation. There were many who expected that after discussions last offseason, Jefferson’s contract would get done before the 2023 regular-season opener against Tampa Bay.
That didn’t happen, raising questions as to what had broken down. Under owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, the Vikings have shown a willingness to spend, and Jefferson was in a position to command a massive contract for once the fifth-year option on his rookie deal expired after the 2024 season.
It made sense to get the agreement done as soon as possible because the price was only going to rise.
This put Jefferson in position to become the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, topping the $30 million that Tyreek Hill gets annually from the Miami Dolphins, and possibly exceeding the $34 million that San Francisco edge rusher Nick Bosa makes as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently might have provided the answer as to why the wait continues. Florio, a longtime Vikings fan who is plugged in with NFL front offices and agents, said the Vikings have a rule that full guarantees in contracts will apply only to the year in which the deal was signed.
The Vikings were willing to make an exception in 2018 when free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins signed the first fully guaranteed deal in NFL history, getting $84 million over three years. But it appears the Vikings are playing hardball with Jefferson, and that leaves negotiations in a very interesting place.
Jefferson, who turns 25 on June 16, deserves as much money as he can get. He has 392 receptions for 5,899 yards and 30 touchdowns in 60 career games, and led the NFL with 128 catches for 1,809 yards, an average of 106.4 yards per game, in 2022. Jefferson missed seven games this past season because of a hamstring injury but still led the Vikings with 1,074 yards on 68 catches.
The Vikings’ hesitancy to fully guarantee money into future seasons is understandable, but since they already did it for Cousins, are they really going to draw the line for one of the best wide receivers in the NFL? If that’s the case, Adofo-Mensah might have to do the unthinkable, at least for Vikings fans, and explore trading Jefferson this offseason.
Jefferson skipped the Vikings’ voluntary workouts last year, but he did not miss a day of mandatory work and also made no threats. While T.J. Hockenson and Danielle Hunter staged their own “hold-ins” during training camp, Jefferson was on the field every day, going through drills.
But considering the time he missed last season — undoubtedly, a reminder of the dangers of playing football — and the fact he now will be entering the final year of his rookie contract, one that will raise his salary to a still-well-below-market-value of $19.7 million, one would think Jefferson will need a rich extension, or new address, before training camp begins.
Jefferson’s personality is such that it’s difficult to believe he will make this ugly, but this also is a business and he has to look out for himself. So do his representatives from WME Sports, and they will have no trouble making demands of the Vikings.
If the issue of the guarantees in Jefferson’s contract can’t be resolved, the Vikings could look to move him before the first round of the NFL draft on April 25. They undoubtedly would be looking for a package that starts with a high first-round pick. That could put the Vikings in a position to keep the 11th overall pick in the draft and add two top talents, including a quarterback with the selection obtained in a Jefferson trade.
If the Vikings can’t stomach the thought of losing Jefferson, they likely will have to move off their contractual policy to make him happy. If not, they might be forced to send him elsewhere. Not long ago, that latter scenario would have seemed implausible. Knowing what we do now, it has to be considered a possibility.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com.