Tag: paul allen

Salary cap implications complicate Sam Darnold being a Viking in 2025

The voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen doesn’t see Darnold back in Minnesota next season.

Plenty of Viking fans are left scratching their head following Sam Darnold’s three-interception performance on Sunday against the Jaguars. Minnesota got the job done and won 12-7 against Jacksonville, but Darnold arguably played his worst Viking game.

Darnold is tied with Geno Smith and Jordan Love for last in the league with 10 interceptions thrown. There was a reason the Vikings drafted Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy to become their new franchise quarterback, and even if Darnold can get back on track, it’s unlikely he will be in Minnesota after this year.

What Allen eludes to is the main issue with Darnold returning to the Vikings in 2025. It has nothing to do with his play but rather with the salary cap implications. Darnold is likely to get a contract earning between $20-$30 million a year from a team needing a quality starter, which Darnold has proven to be.

“I mean, if Sam Darnold wins the Super Bowl as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, he’s not getting 100 million guaranteed here,” Paul Allen said on KFAN1003. “He’s not, because Kwesi in that group has worked so hard for two and a half years to get salary cap flexibility. And in essence, jettison picks in certain parts of the draft to get Greenard, to get Van Ginkel, to get Cashman.”

The Vikings and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are in prime posit[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]ion to make a splash in free agency, with a projected $76 million available to them. That will allow them to re-sign and extend some core players while also going out and addressing some team needs.

Bringing Darnold back makes those two goals more challenging for a franchise that has shown efficiency in player management.

Justin Jefferson found his career after football against the Raiders

It was announced on Friday that Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson would participate in the team’s third-quarter game broadcast.

It was announced on Friday that Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson would participate in the team’s third-quarter game broadcast. He would join legendary broadcaster Paul Allen on the call, which turned into something memorable for both them and the people lucky enough to listen.

Jefferson immediately went from “media member” to teammate, and it led to some excellent moments that the Vikings’ social media team could share with everyone who missed it.

He was on the call for both of J.J. McCarthy’s touchdown passes, one to Trishton Jackson and the other to Trent Sherfield. The play to Sherfield was great due to the fact that Jefferson was calling for them to push the ball downfield more, and they did that immediately afterward.

This was all capped off by the third quarter ending, and both Jefferson and Allen were sad their fun had to end. Hopefully, they rehash it in the remainder of the preseason games.

4 Vikings offensive keys in Week 14 vs. Raiders

The Vikings offense is struggling and they will need to perform well to beat the Raiders on Sunday

After having a bye week to lick their wounds from the two previous defeats, the Minnesota Vikings are back in action, this time on the road. Minnesota takes on the Las Vegas Raiders in Allegiant Stadium at 3:05 p.m. CST.

The Vikings offense struggled mightily in their two losses just before the bye week. In weeks 11 and 12, the Vikings’ offense was tied for 29th in EPA/play with the Cleveland Browns and in front of only the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets.

Since cutting bait with Josh McDaniels and that regime, the Raiders’ defense has come alive.

Minnesota is still firmly in the playoff picture as they currently hold the second wild-card spot and the sixth seed in the playoffs. But those two losses to the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears may loom large as these were chances to distance themselves from the pack.

Instead, they are fighting off three teams with the same 6-6 record as they hold, including the Green Bay Packers, for a shot at the playoffs. Every game matters and the Vikings need to capitalize on each game.

If the Vikings want to get back to their winning ways against the Raiders, the offense has to look a lot better than it did before the bye. To do that, they will need to follow these four keys to victory.

Vikings radio announcer proposes wild trade with Texans

On his KFAN radio show, Paul Allen proposed an ambitious trade with the Houston Texans

You know it’s peak offseason when trade proposals are bandied about. On his radio show on 100.3 KFAN on Friday, the voice of the Minnesota Vikings Paul Allen proposed an ambitious trade with the Houston Texans which would send quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Texans.

Let’s break this down. First off, this is just speculation, but it brings an interesting idea. The Vikings are looking like a potential contender to move up for a quarterback in the first round and this is one way to get that done. You would need Cousins to waive his no-trade clause, but with the offense being familiar, it is possible.

Now, is the trade fair or could actually happen? Absolutely not. Cousins is entering his age 35 season and Za’Darius Smith (the aforementioned Z) is entering his age 32 season. That’s not something that the Texans, who are rebuilding and have a chance at a top quarterback, would end up agreeing to. Plus, the two players involved in this trade and pick 23 wouldn’t bring pick two back by themselves let alone also getting 12.

What is fun about this is hypothesizing a potential move up for the Vikings, something columnist Matt Anderson conjured up in his latest seven-round mock draft.

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Vikings announcer Paul Allen going from zero to 100 during wild win over Bills was also every NFL fan watching

“Oh, the ball came out!!! YES, the Vikings are gonna win!!!”

The Minnesota Vikings might officially be on to Week 11 and the hopeful next big win of their season against the Dallas Cowboys. Still, it’ll be a long time before anyone forgets this clear Super Bowl contender’s incredible road 33-30 win over the Bills.

It had everything. A Minnesota comeback, galvanized by a ridiculous Justin Jefferson catch that might also be one of the greatest catches of all time. A fumbled snap by Josh Allen in the end zone — among other complete chaos — that let Minnesota take a late pole position. Even 12 Bills (in a huge missed call) were on the field during a crucial play in overtime.

And as that chaos unfolded during the Vikings’ seemingly improbable victory, the team’s radio play-by-play announcer Paul Allen was filmed during the madness. Unsurprisingly, he was riding the same up-and-down exciting wave of emotion as everyone else watching at home:

Man, does it get any better than Allen’s emotions there? Honestly, that’s how a hometown commentator should call a game!

When even the play-by-play announcer that sees every play for a team is taken aback by the action — you know you’ve just witnessed a beyond-wild game.

WATCH: Paul Allen’s emphatic in-game reactions are priceless

The Vikings have the best in the business

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best play-by-play guys in the business and this Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills is further proof that they do without question.

Paul Allen has been calling Minnesota Vikings games since the 2002 season and has made some of the best calls in NFL history including the 2003 season finale (Nate Poole), Brett Favre’s interception in the 2009 NFC Championship Game, Blair Walsh’s miss in the 2015 Wild Card Game against the Seattle Seahawks and of course the Minneapolis Miracle.

On Sunday afternoon, the Vikings caught Allen’s emphatic reactions to the big moments at the end of the game and they are every bit as good as the other legendary calls.

We are truly blessed to have such a great play-by-play announcer for the Vikings.

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Morant’s salary is a fraction of what …

Morant’s salary is a fraction of what he deserves, which is bad for him and, in the harsh reality of the competitive NBA, magical for his team. To contend for the NBA title, you typically need to win north of 50 games. The Warriors’ math is that if Curry generates 15 wins, then there’s some tap dancing—and cap dancing—to figure out how to afford the other 35-40. After paying Steph, the Warriors had only $67 million left to spend under the salary cap. That would only buy 20 more wins at league-average prices, and who wants to win a measly 35 games? So to leap back into title contention, the Warriors shattered the salary cap and set all-time spending records. Over the broad sweep of NBA history, we see the occasional Joe Lacob, James Dolan, Mikhail Prokhorov, or Paul Allen—billionaires determined to build dynasties with gold bricks. It usually doesn’t work. Even when it does, the league stacks on such punitive luxury-tax bills that everyone eventually loses their appetite for overspending.

Oregon and Nike legend Phil Knight makes bid to buy Portland Trail Blazers

According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Oregon and Nike legend Phil Knight is trying to buy the Portland Trail Blazers.

You could argue that there is no man more important in the state of Oregon than Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike. You may even be able to argue that he is among the most important people in the world of sports, for that matter.

It turns out that Knight, one of the most legendary figures in Oregon Ducks history, is making a bid to keep professional sports in the state, with a $2 billion-plus offer to buy the Portland Trail Blazers.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Knight, alongside Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky, has made a written offer to purchase the Blazers, which are currently owned by the late Paul Allen’s trust.

According to Wojnarowski, Knight’s goal is to keep the Blazers in Portland, rather than have them be sold to another party that could potentially move them outside of Oregon.

Knight is among the most famous alumni of the University of Oregon, and his endless donations to both the Ducks’ athletics and educational departments make him among the most recognized boosters in the nation.

We will see if he can venture into the NBA with a potential purchase of the Blazers, and keep an eye on this development as it continues to progress.

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