Outside linebacker Danielle Hunter is reportedly planning to skip the Vikings’ two-day minicamp that begins Tuesday. But he isn’t the only high-profile player who has been absent from the team’s offseason program and now might be willing to incur a substantial fine by missing the only mandatory workouts that occur before training camp.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson also is seeking a new contract and has been working out in Florida. While the 28-year-old Hunter wants a new contract to replace the final year of his current deal that’s scheduled to pay him a below-market value $5.5 million, Jefferson and his camp are working on a second contract that won’t begin until his rookie deal is completed after the 2024 season. Jefferson became eligible for that contract this spring.
Jefferson, who has become a superstar only three years into his NFL career and was the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2022, has a base salary of $2.4 million in 2023 and $19.7 million in 2024. The former figure is a nod to how favorable rookie contracts are for NFL teams and the latter is still a bargain as the fifth-year option for one of the league’s best wide receivers.
Jefferson, who will turn 24 on Friday, can’t be blamed for wanting to have more financial security before he steps foot on the field again wearing purple.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah probably didn’t help himself at his end-of-the-season press conference when asked about Jefferson’s contract.
“I wouldn’t use the word challenge,” Adofo-Mensah said. “You got a special player, a special person. Those aren’t problems. Or at least those are champagne problems. So we’ll start there.”
Safe to say, Jefferson’s camp has probably dropped the term “champagne problems” on Adofo-Mensah whenever they have talked. The reality is that Jefferson’s representatives are likely pursuing not only for the richest wide receiver contract in the NFL but the richest for a non-quarterback in the league. There is nothing easy about negotiating like this, no matter how talented the player might be. The player’s camp wants to break the bank, and the team wants to look out for its best interests.
The Rams’ Aaron Donald currently is the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB with a contract that calls for $31.7 million per season. The Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill and Raiders’ Davante Adams lead NFL wide receivers with an average annual value of $30 million and $28 million, respectively.
It will be a surprise if something doesn’t get done this offseason, but that doesn’t mean it will be done by Tuesday. Jefferson might want to avoid being fined and could come to an agreement with the Vikings to show up at TCO but not practice.
What will be really interesting is if Jefferson’s contract extension isn’t completed when training camp opens in late July. The Vikings’ offense is largely built around him and everyone associated with Jefferson knows this. That gives him plenty of power and creates a sense of urgency for the Vikings to make him happy.
Until Jefferson signs his second contract, this will be a problem that won’t include any champagne for Vikings officials.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com