Flurry of NFL Headlines Make the Vikings Look A Bit Savvier
The past week has involved a flurry of NFL headlines, most notably in the form of updates for star players landing huge deals (Jordan Addison was in the news, but his update stemmed from his driving infraction from last summer).
All of NYJ corner Sauce Gardner (NFL), NYJ receiver Garrett Wilson (Shefter), KC right guard Trey Smith (Rapoport), and PIT edge rusher T.J. Watt (Shefter) landed some major money. In each instance, there was a direct corollary on the Vikings’ books. Put differently, Minnesota has recently signed players at each of these positions, doing so for contracts that look good in relation to the most recent ones.
The NFL Headlines & The Vikings’ Contracts
Start off with one that got discussed on PurplePTSD yesterday: Will Fries’ monster deal getting outdone by Kansas City’s Trey Smith.
Mr. Fries is working under a five-year agreement that’s a hair below $88 million. Mr. Smith agreed to a contract for four years and that’s sitting at $94 million. See the major difference? That extra season — Fries sitting at five years instead of four for Smith — is a large difference, especially since the number for the KC guard is higher.
On average, the Chiefs are paying their RG1 roughly $6 million more per season.
Meanwhile, the Garrett Wilson deal kind of bumps up on the Justin Jefferson contract.
The word on VT: “Across those four seasons, Garrett Wilson is just $10 million below Justin Jefferson. Wilson’s deal is for four years and $130 million; Jefferson’s deal is for four years and $140 million. Is that all that separates the pair?”
A fascinating example comes when we place the Vikings’ Jonathan Greenard alongside the deal for Watt with the Steelers.
The update: “ESPN sources: Steelers star TJ Watt has become the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history for the second time in his illustrious career, reaching agreement today on a three-year, $123 million extension that includes $108M fully guaranteed at signing. The $41 million per year average is the highest of any non-quarterback in NFL history. The deal has been in the works between CAA Sports and the Steelers front office for months.”
Consider, as a point of comparison, that Jonathan Greenard is working on a four-year contract that’s promising to pay $76 million. Few could argue that Greenard is better than Watt, but is the difference really so large? Greenard finds himself at an average of $19 million per season. Double the number and we would be sitting at $38 million per season, still short of the Watt number.
Finally, consider that Gardner is bringing in more than $30 million per season. Earlier in the offseason, Byron Murphy Jr. got a major raise with his three-year agreement that’s sitting at $54 million. Murphy’s average is down at $18 million per season. Gardner — both younger and better — may be worth that deal, but the contract for Minnesota’s CB1 does look a little different now.
Now, that’s not to say that Minnesota crushed every deal. Only time will tell, folks. The players who agreed to meaty money still need to prove capable of fulfilling expectations, a basic truth that applies to any player who lands a huge NFL deal. Plus, Minnesota still is staring down a major amount of salary cap debt next offseason.
The point may nevertheless remain that some of the deals Kwesi Adofo-Mensah constructed may end up aging well.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
