Tag: Contracts

Despite Darrisaw’s new contract, Vikings have plenty of cap room in 2025

The Vikings have done well paying players with contracts that allow flexibility, look no further than the extension of Christian Darrisaw.

The salary cap is the boogeyman of the NFL world, it is only real if you make it real. The Minnesota Vikings have done a tremendous job paying players with contracts that allow the boogeyman to remain away at all times.

Look no further than the latest contract extension of Christian Darrisaw.

The team extended Darrisaw on Wednesday to a contract worth up to $113 million over four years. The deal is being tacked onto the end of his rookie contract which will allow the team to remain flexible in the salary cap next offseason.

They spent some money this year, shelling out over $130 million in contracts to their free-agent signings. Not to mention the $253 million they gave between Justin Jefferson and Darrisaw to extend them. Despite all of that, the team is expected to have somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 million to spend on free agent salaries in 2025.

According to Spotrac, that is good for the fifth-most cap space in the NFL.

The defense is expected to be the focus in terms any overhauls in the next offseason as the offense proved to be the focus this year. The secondary and defensive line have some big names in free agency the team may be able to pull away from rivals and future opponents.

Time will tell but it appear General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has set himself up nicely for the next offseason.

Vikings bring back fan favorite DB Duke Shelley

After a year away from the Minnesota Vikings, defensive back Duke Shelley is back in the Twin Cities after coming to terms with the team.

After a year away from the Minnesota Vikings, defensive back Duke Shelley is back in the Twin Cities after coming to terms with the team.

Shelley played for the Vikings for the 2022 season, appearing in 11 games, five of which were starts. He started his career in Chicago after being drafted by the Bears in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. From there, he signed with Minnesota, where he flashed some high moments with the team and earned high praise from PFF with their grading.

On 398 snaps played, Shelley earned an overall defensive grade of 81.5 but had a tremendous coverage grade of 84.9.

Shelley played in 11 games last year with the Rams but didn’t have the success he had in 2022. The Vikings signed Shelley in hopes that he can provide some depth to the defensive back groups but he may have a shot at earning a meaningful role within the defense.

The secondary is a major concern, especially at cornerback, and getting depth and more rotational pieces could be a good band-aid for the team.

Christian Darrisaw contract negotiations may start to pickup steam

The Minnesota Vikings locked down one star on offense, now they turn their focus to another with a crucial 2024 season ahead of him.

The Minnesota Vikings locked down one star on offense, and now they turn their focus to another with a crucial 2024 season ahead of him. This front office made Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. While they will need to make an impressive offer, it will unlikely be a position-altering one.

Of course, the player in question is none other than former first-round pick Christian Darrisaw.

The offensive tackle has proven he is worthy of being one of the top-paid players at his position. However, according to Darren Wolfson, during an appearance on Skor North, there is one major caveat to that becoming a reality with one other factor potentially helping matters.

Wolfson hinted that the team has “reservations about paying that much to a player long-term if they feel that the injury history has become a genuine concern.” Wolfson explained that the deal is expected to be done now that he has changed agents for the second time through this process. Currently his agent is listed as Drew Rosenhaus who has a good relationship with the franchise after negatiating Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel’s contracts this offseason.

Darren Wolfson was quick to mention that despite what may come of these talks, there isn’t likely to be a deal done this training camp but the cornerstone left tackle is “apart of the Vikings plans.”

In three full seasons with the Vikings, Darrisaw has yet to play a full season and has played in 41 out of 52 potential games in his career. The former Virginia Tech tackle would put the Vikings in a tough but good position if he were to play a full season in 2024.

Without a full-season, things could get dicey in the Vikings front office in terms of the money within any offered deals. It is important to note, Darrisaw is under contract through the 2025 season after the team picked up his fifth-year option.

Health will determine Christian Darrisaw’s extension with Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings and their front office have been on a roll this offseason in getting contracts done, Christian Darrisaw is next.

The Minnesota Vikings and their front office have been on a roll this offseason in getting contracts done for various players within and outside the franchise. The latest was star wide receiver Justin Jefferson but the next one could be another franchise staple, Christian Darrisaw.

The cornerstone left tackle was drafted in the first round out of Virginia Tech in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has proven to be one of the best players at his position when healthy.

According to Charley Walters of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, that last point is the key to his contract.

Walters wrote this past week that the Vikings do want to extend Darrisaw, but they want to see if he can play for a whole season, something he has not done yet. While the team isn’t likely to let him go, they aren’t wrong for holding off to see how healthy he can be.

The team will likely give him a deal near the top of the tackle market. It isn’t common to invest and tie that much money up in a player with Darrisaw’s injury history.

The fact they still want to do a deal proves how special they see Christian Darrisaw to be.

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.

Ranking: The highest-paid player ever on each NBA team

HoopsHype lists the highest-paid player for each NBA team.

Did you know 29 of the 30 NBA franchises have paid a player at least $100 million?

HoopsHype compiled the all-time highest-paid player on each NBA team, including prorated salaries for players who didn’t start or finish at least a season with that team, combining to earn over $5 billion, according to our database from 1990 and onward.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report. 

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.

Breaking down Amon-Ra St. Brown’s contract extension with the Lions

Breaking down Amon-Ra St. Brown’s record-setting contract extension with the Lions

The Detroit Lions interrupted the NFL draft conversation on Wednesday by locking up All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to a massive new contract extension. The deal locks up St. Brown through the 2028 season and includes the biggest amount of guaranteed money for any wide receiver in NFL history.

Per Spotrac, the new contract details show some cap creativity from the Lions. The deal is for $120.01 million over four years at the end of his current contract, which expires after the 2024 season. His salary cap hit for 2024 remains a relatively paltry $4.8 million.

After that, the cap hits escalate quickly thanks to the $77 million in guaranteed money, which includes a $16.6 million signing bonus. Only the prorated part of the signing bonus gets tacked onto the Lions cap in 2024.

The cap hit in the subsequent seasons, from Spotrac:

2025: $13.9M
2026: $33.1M
2027: $28.9M
2028: $41M

As is becoming the norm for the Lions and their contracts, they tacked on one void year to help spread out the cap hit even longer. The 2029 season voids and will cost Detroit $1.7 million in dead cap that year.

Jared Goff says ‘there have been discussions’ about a contract extension with the Lions

Jared Goff says ‘there have been discussions’ about a contract extension with the Lions

One of the hot topics all offseason has been the contract status of Lions quarterback Jared Goff. The Pro Bowler is under contract through the 2024 season and is set to earn a $22.3 million salary and $32.3 million salary cap hit in the final year of the four-year, $134 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Rams.

One year out is typically when top-notch players get extensions, and Goff has proven to be just that for Detroit. Despite all the fan and media consternation about his status, Goff has been pretty quiet about any extension talks. Unconfirmed reports and speculation peg any extension in the $45-50 million per year range for Goff, who is still just 29 years old.

Goff typically eschews talking about his contract, but he did acknowledge there have been talks with the Lions about a potential contract extension. He met with the media during the team’s voluntary workouts this week.

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“There have been discussions. But I’ll leave it at that,” Goff told reporters on Tuesday.

Goff also added this about playing in Detroit, dispelling any notion that he would want to leave the Lions,

“It’s been amazing, man. I love it here and I would love to be here for a long time. Really special, like I said, to play in front of these fans. Being able to provide a winning culture in the last year-and-a-half or so and see them experience that and be a part of that has been fun. By no means are we satisfied, or happy to be here or any of that. It’s about what’s next.”

Aaron Jones’ contract with Vikings takes advantage of void years

The Minnesota Vikings continue to structure their contracts to be flexible, adding four void years to Aaron Jones’ deal.

The Minnesota Vikings had to find a way to maneuver with all of their free agent signings and the salary cap. What better way to do that than to create void years and spread the money out. They did that with outside linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t stop there.

Running back Aaron Jones’ contract employs four void years to maintain flexibility both in 2024 and potentially beyond. Here is how Over The Cap has his contract laid out.

  • 2024 base salary: $2 million
  • $4 million signing bonus spread out over five years with four void years
  • $850K per-game roster bonus and $150K workout bonus fully guaranteed
  • $3.5 million salary cap charge in 2024
  • $3.2 million dead-cap hit in 2025

The Vikings have structured this deal for maximum flexibility but also have it built in to bring back Jones if the 2024 season goes well. Now, Jones wouldn’t be the type of player you would give a long-term extension to, but a one- or two-year deal at the right price would make sense.

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