Category: Contracts

What is holding up J.J. McCarthy’s contract with Vikings?

The Vikings have yet to come to an agreement with J.J. McCarthy. While contracts with draft picks can take a while, this one will get done.

The Minnesota Vikings have yet to come to an agreement with their top draft pick, quarterback J.J. McCarthy. While contracts can take a while, they always get done with draft picks. The CBA and the cap on rookie contracts makes things easier for teams, but the tiny details can make things difficult.

Those details, such as signing bonus money and whether it is deferred, are believed to be holding up McCarthy’s contract, as Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press noted in a recent column. Walters said there are rumors that McCarthy wants all of his signing bonus up front.

The former Michigan Wolverine is expected to sign a four-year deal worth $22 million. It will also include a fifth-year option because McCarthy is a first-round pick. The signing bonus is expected to be around $13 million. What could hold things up is whether that signing bonus is deferred over the length of the contract.

The contract will be done; it is a matter of time. McCarthy hasn’t missed any team workouts and is clearly excited to be a Viking.

ESPN’s Barnwell doesn’t see Justin Jefferson being highest paid WR for long

Whenever a player gets an extension, the question is who is next? Especially when someone resets the market like Justin Jefferson did.

Whenever a player gets an extension, the question is who is next, especially when someone resets the market like Justin Jefferson did. The wide receiver position is loaded with talent heading into the 2024 season, specifically, talent looking to get paid.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN wrote an article discussing who is next regarding big-money contracts at the receiver position. He points to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb being next in line.

“Now that Jefferson has reset the market, though, the Cowboys will probably need to pay (CeeDee) Lamb even more than his Vikings counterpart to get his deal done.”

It is not just Lamb though, the Saints, Rams, Jets, and Bengals are all in similar boats with their star wide receivers.

“The same will be true for Chase and, down the line, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and (Puka) Nacua. Having Jefferson signed for $35 million per year becomes a better deal when Lamb gets $36 million, Chase gets $37 million and Wilson picks up $40 million per season.”

It won’t be a knock on Justin Jefferson at all. This happens to every position across the entire NFL. Each player that comes up and showcases themselves as stars feels they deserve to be made special by the team they play for, and rightfully so.

The passing game in the NFL is at an all-time high between the quarterback play and the wide receivers involved, paying them is just a matter of fact.

Vikings GM: ‘Never a second in my mind’ Justin Jefferson extension wouldn’t get done

On Monday, the Vikings extended Justin Jefferson and gave him an extension and in Kwesi Aodofo-Mensah’s mind it was always happening.

On Monday, the Minnesota Vikings extended Justin Jefferson and gave him the richest contract to someone who doesn’t play the quarterback position. In the mind of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, that was always going to be the end result.

Speaking at a press conference announcing the deal, Adofo-Mensah made it very clear that this deal and the future of Jefferson were never up in the air. He confirmed they never entertained any trade scenarios, while also stating that this process was never frustrating or prolonged. He explained it as a negotiation that started last offseason, took a break, and returned to it this offseason to finish it.

“There was never a second in my mind that we weren’t going to be here,” Adofo-Mensah said at the press conference.

Both he and Kevin O’Connell also acknowledged how special a player Justin Jefferson is. They know keeping him in a Vikings uniform is and was important, now, they do that for the next five years.

Justin Jefferson’s contract extension is comparable to legends before him

Justin Jefferson is well on his way to being one of the best wide receivers of his generation, both on the field and financially.

Justin Jefferson is well on his way to being one of the best wide receivers of his generation, both on the field and financially.

Jefferson and the Vikings have agreed to four-year, $140 million extension, which was reported Monday.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN pointed out that the Vikings financially locked Jefferson into a deal comparable to those that legends at his position before him had. The money per year is, of course, higher, but the percentage of the team’s salary cap remains similar.

Barnwell points out that Jefferson’s contract takes up 13.7% of the Vikings’ cap. It aligns with the deals that Larry Fitzgerald signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2011 and Calvin Johnson with the Detroit Lions in 2012.

Those contracts were both for eight years compared with the four years that Jefferson got. The Vikings’ overall salary cap total is also greater over a shorter period of time.

To Jefferson’s benefit, however, his deal comes when he is much younger than Fitzgerald and Johnson were when they got their extensions. Jefferson will turn 25 this month, while Fitzgerald was 28 and Johnson was 26 at the time of their deals.

Mental, physical traits make Justin Jefferson deserving of his new contract

The Vikings extended Justin Jefferson on Monday to record-setting contract. Touchdown Wire makes points regarding his massive extension.

The Minnesota Vikings extended Justin Jefferson to a record-setting contract on Monday. Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire makes several points regarding his worthiness for the massive extension.

Justin Jefferson has established himself as the best wide receiver in the NFL in just four years of being in the league. He is dominating during a time when the wide receiver position had an influx of talent that hadn’t been seen before. He separates himself with mental and physical traits that make him a complete football player, not just a wide receiver.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire makes several points about what allows Jefferson to dominate NFL defenses. He cites his vertical ability, nuanced approach to the position, winning contested catches, and picking up extra yards after the catch.

All of those are traits that if you hope you can find in a wide receiver. If a player has one or two of those, you are overjoyed. But when you find someone who does all of that, you know you have a special talent.

Jefferson’s contract makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. The film and traits he shows he possesses make him worth every penny of the deal.

Vikings make Justin Jefferson highest paid non-quarterback in league history

After speculation and trade rumors swirling, the Vikings have locked up their franchise centerpiece, Justin Jefferson, to a hefty extension.

After months of speculation and trade rumors, the Minnesota Vikings have signed Justin Jefferson, their franchise centerpiece, to a hefty extension.

The rumor speculated by many was that the team wanted to sign Jefferson to a contract-altering deal, and they did just that. The deal is for four years, $140 million, with $89 million of it being guaranteed. This deal makes Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history as he edges out San Francisco 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa for the new record.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media was the first to report the deal.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that many teams checked in on Jefferson’s availability in trade talks, but Kwesi Adofo-Mensah never gave them serious thought. They recognized the importance of keeping their franchise star and best offensive weapon around for a rookie quarterback.

Now, one J.J., Justin Jefferson, gets to establish a connection with the newest J.J. on the team, J.J. McCarthy.

The team has also made the signing official by announcing it on social media and the man himself has posted a message to Vikings fans expressing his excitement for staying in Minnesota.

Negotiations loom for Vikings and ‘building block’ Christian Darrisaw

The Minnesota Vikings are dealing with one grueling contract extension currently but have another on the horizon for Christian Darrisaw. 

The Minnesota Vikings are dealing with one grueling contract extension currently but have another on the horizon for Christian Darrisaw.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN mentioned in his latest piece that the Vikings and Darrisaw have had early discussions, but no deal is close to imminent. Seifert also mentions that no deal is expected to take place this year and to be honest, why would it? The team is dealing with their Justin Jefferson contract talks, so hammering out two big extensions at once may not be feasible.

However, Kevin Seifert points out that Darrisaw is critical to the team’s future success.

“Darrisaw is every bit the building block that Jefferson is… the Vikings view him as a player who can hold down his position into the next decade. There have been initial talks between the sides, as would be expected, but there is no indication that a deal — which would be two years early, something that happens in relatively rare occasions — is imminent.”

The Vikings, having a young offensive core of Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw, could set the franchise up for success in the foreseeable future. Both will need to be paid, but as the division rival Detroit Lions have shown, it can be done.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will have to do his best Brad Holmes impression to get these deals done or else someone else will.

Albert Breer sees Amon-Ra St. Brown’s extension as a base for Justin Jefferson

Justin Jefferson and his contract extension has dominated the news and the reason for it dragging out may have to do with Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Justin Jefferson and his contract extension have dominated the news, and the reason for it dragging out may have to do with Amon-Ra St. Brown. Jefferson’s contract lays out the base on which Jefferson’s contract could be built, which may be why it is being such a drawn-out process.

As Albert Breer discussed in his latest mailbag, guaranteed money is the root of the potential problems the negotiations are facing.

Breer mentions that St. Brown’s contract, which is guaranteed at $80 million, is the base for just the first two years of a potential Jefferson extension. In the first three years, he hints at the number being guaranteed at $100 million.

Having that much money in a non-quarterback can prove to be difficult.

“Add that up, and given what Bosa got, and the difference between Jefferson and St. Brown, I think you’re talking about a starting point of $80 million for the first two new years, which means $100 million over the next three years. Probably all guaranteed. And probably then some. Which is why this is no easy negotiation.”

With so many top-tier wide receivers on the edge of being extended, the sooner the Vikings can get a deal done the better. Players such as Ceedee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk will challenge Jefferson’s guaranteed money but won’t surpass it.

However, every bit they get will be used against the front office.

Could Justin Jefferson’s new deal top $35 million per year?

In an interview with KFAN1003, Minnesota Vikings beat writer Alec Lewis speculated that Justin Jefferson could make $35 million/year or more

One of the biggest topics surrounding the Minnesota Vikings this offseason is the contract situation with star wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson has wanted a long-term deal for the past few years, and the Vikings have seemingly been motivated to lock up one of the best receivers in the NFL.

However, a deal remains unreached, likely due to just how much Jefferson is in line to receive.

Just how much could the Vikings be on the hook for? Vikings beat writer for The Athletic, Alec Lewis, believes the price tag for Jefferson could come in at or above a whopping $35 million per year. In an interview with radio station KFAN1003, Lewis stated:

[Justin Jefferson’s representatives] know how to maximize a guy’s value. And that value to me is going to be 35 million a year at the bare minimum, probably.

That price tag has likely increased quite a bit in the past few months with the new deals reached by Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown and Detroit Lions rising star Amon-Ra St. Brown. If Jefferson were to get $35M per year (or more), it would make him the highest-paid receiver in the league per year, coming in $3 million more per year than Brown.

No matter what the final number winds up being for Jefferson, it’s clear by his production that he deserves to be among the highest-paid at the position, if not the leader of the pact.

Vikings re-sign offensive lineman Dalton Risner to one-year deal

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Dalton Risner has signed a one-year deal to return to the Minnesota Vikings, where he started 11 games in 2023.

According to ESPN Insider Adam Schefter, the Minnesota Vikings have re-signed offensive lineman Dalton Risner to a one-year deal. The Vikings starting guard last season had a rather public disappointment in his free agent market, but it seems he’s finally found a suitor, and it’s back in Minneapolis.

Risner came to the Vikings partway through last season and almost immediately worked his way into the starting lineup. He played a pivotal role on the offensive line and will look to improve an offensive line that took a lot of heat during the season but performed better than many may realize.

Risner started his career with the Denver Broncos after being taken in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Risner played four seasons with the Broncos, starting every game in his first two seasons and missing just four games in the next two seasons.

After leaving the Broncos, Risner signed with the Vikings during the 2023 season, eventually prompting the team to trade starting guard Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

With the signing, Risner figures to pick up where he left off in 2023 as the team’s starting left guard. Alongside one of the top tackles in the NFL, Christian Darrisaw, they figure to be one of the top duos in the NFL.