Vikings Long-Snapper Andrew DePaola Gets Record Deal
After re-signing center Garrett Bradbury and coming to a new salary cap conversion with quarterback Kirk Cousins’ contract, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah continued the theme of continuity on Tuesday evening. The latest move involved an underrated player on the roster, Vikings long-snapper Andrew DePaola, who was named a First-Team All-Pro during the 2022 season.
As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who received the word from DePaola’s agent Sean Stellato, the long-snapper has received a new contract from Minnesota that will keep him a Viking for the next three years and is worth a total $4.025 million. The guaranteed $2.265 million in the contract is also the highest guaranteed amount to a long snapper.
DePaola consistently has been one of the better long-snappers in the NFL since entering the league in 2014. He got his career started with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he spent his first three seasons, playing all 16 games in each season.
He then had stints with the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders before joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. He has played in 41 games with the Vikings over the past three seasons, and his new contract is extremely well-earned.
The long-snapper position is one of those thankless positions, similar to the offensive line, where it’s better if you’re not hearing their names on a week-to-week basis. DePaola has quietly gone about his business throughout his time in Minnesota and finally received some recognition last season with his All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections.
Consistency on the special teams is one of the more underrated aspects of an NFL franchise as well, and considering some of the success that the Vikings had in that area of the game during 2022, it should be important to the franchise that they keep as many of these players as possible. The first such move has gone in, and now, DePaola will be with the Vikings through the 2025 season.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.