Neither a Blue Chip Nor a Start Up, the Vikings’ Stock Remains in an Odd Spot
Shortly after the season’s abrupt end, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (alongside Kevin O’Connell) addressed the Minnesota media.
After the opening preamble from GM and HC, Adofo-Mensah fielded a question that was inspired by his past working on the stock market: “where would the Vikings’ stock be right now?” The young executive notes that it’s a “phenomenal lead off question” before giving a mini breakdown of how stocks work.
“I’m a little out of it,” Adofo-Mensah noted, “so I couldn’t even tell you where the S&P 500 is, but I would say, obviously you have start ups and then you have longer-tenured, your core have earned money for a long period of time, and they’re less growth stocks. I think we’re somewhere in between.”
Shortly thereafter, Adofo-Mensah talked about how in some senses they’re a start up since he and the new coach are building “a new culture, we brought in a new way of playing.” However, he then argued that Minnesota “established our ability to earn,” which he goes on to clarify means they can win games.
“But I wouldn’t say,” the GM argued, “that we’re that established, ‘there’ team because we haven’t shown it yet, we haven’t shown our ability to come in year-in, year-out to compete in playoffs and do those things. We want to be.” He then notes the trajectory remains a “championship standard” as they shoot for the playoffs every season.
Keeping up with the metaphor?
Pulling from his past to inform the present is something that has been a common feature of Adofo-Mensah’s time as the Vikings’ GM. Admittedly, the stock market is well beyond the expertise of your author. What I can glean from Kwesi’s words, though, is that there is a difference in the valuation for a company that’s brand new and then one of the heavyweights like Google, Apple, or Disney.
Bringing things around to football means the GM believed – as of the middle of January – that the Vikings weren’t yet on the level of a team like the Kansas City Chiefs. Or, at least, they weren’t there yet.
The Vikings’ Stock Going Into 2023
By the GM’s own admission, the Vikings’ stock sits in a middle ground. As the offseason has continued to unfold, Adofo-Mensah’s decisions reflect that belief.
Retaining Kirk Cousins, signing Byron Murphy and Marcus Davenport, retaining mid-career players like Alexander Mattison and Garrett Bradbury, and then opting for Brian Flores at DC reflect the team’s desire to get back into the playoffs at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
However, opting to trade away Za’Darius Smith, cut long-time veterans (Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, Dalvin Cook), and then move on from productive internal free agents (Patrick Peterson, Dalvin Tomlinson) point to a desire to make the team more profitable at an unnamed future date.
Living in the murky middle ground – deemed the competitive rebuild from the same general manager – is uncomfortable for some. And, to be sure, there is a danger in seeking to have one’s purple cake and eat it too. There is considerable wisdom in a full teardown and rebuild even if it’s an approach that comes with risk.
And yet therein lies the issue: there’s no such thing as an approach that’s without risk. At present, the GM has been hard at work diversifying his investments to prepare for an uncertain future. Some teams are fully investing in the present whereas others are more diligent about investing in stocks that offer more upside over a long-term horizon.
Kwesi, in contrast, has been spreading his funds pretty evenly across the board. The moves he is making suggest there is an eye toward both the present and the future. In so doing, the GM has undermined some of the team’s volatility even as outside analysts and evaluators see a stock that’s trending downward.
The Danielle decision, one that hovers over the franchise, will go a long way in telling us about the GM’s views of where the Vikings find themselves. Moving on from the elite pass rusher would signal this team is further from contention than most fans want to admit.
Once the season actually begins, everyone – even the GM – will gain a much greater understanding of what kind of value this team has.
