The Vikings’ Financial Facts Post-Dalvin Cook
Moving on from Dalvin Cook was the expected move. Deciding on a simple cut in early June was odd, but the divorce itself is no reason for surprise. The Vikings’ financial landscape looks a bit different now.
Perhaps the main impetus for cutting the still-talented running back rests in financial savings. Moving on from #4 means the team tossed $9 million back onto the pile for their 2023 budget. However, there’s more to the situation than just the initial savings on the 2023 cap.
Vikings’ Financial Facts
Shortly after the firm news hit, several NFL voices drew attention to a feature of Cook’s contract wording. One example is Mike Garafolo and another is Ben Goessling. Essentially, the team is capable of gaining another $2 million in cap space, depending on the nature of the RB’s next deal.
On the more negative end of things is the dead money hit. The running back leaves behind a touch above $5.1 million in dead money, pushing the team’s total to a pretty ghastly amount: $36,535,601. It’s not an entirely crippling amount of dead money, but it’s easily the single largest cap charge on the team’s budget. No single player accounts for anywhere close to that in 2023.
Next season, Cook will leave behind a bit more than $3.1 million in dead money.
As for overall cap space, the Vikings are sitting at a rotund $17.8 million. After all the consternation and stress about the purple finances, Minnesota now finds itself within the league’s top-10 teams for cap space.
Furthermore, next season’s budget is looking like a robust $53 million (subject to a ton of change). The 2025 budget? Well, that’s just over $165 million in room. So, yes, the Vikings really are in a nice position to aggressively add talent in coming offseasons even as we realize those numbers are going to change once extensions are signed (alongside a variety of other factors).
In the meantime, the Vikings should be checking in on who’s available in free agency. Giving Brian Flores just a bit more talent to work with seems like the wise approach, especially with some uncertainty swirling around Danielle Hunter. What good is cap space if it isn’t used to improve the team?
The season begins in September when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit U.S. Bank Stadium. Bringing someone in over these next few weeks would give the player the chance to get acclimated during training camp and the preseason.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
