Vikings’ Bidding War Ways Still in Full Effect
Earlier in the offseason, the Vikings’ bidding war ways were helpful in free agency, especially when landing right guard Will Fries.
Fast forward to the aftermath of the 2025 NFL Draft. Plenty of excellent players slipped out of the three-day event, giving the GM the opportunity to pull off his now-expected approach: an aggressive foray into the UDFA cluster of talent to lure the top players to Minnesota. The contract details for several of the recent adds point toward a Vikings team that again outmuscled several competitors.
Vikings’ Bidding War Ways Continue into Undrafted Free Agency
Start off at the game’s most important position. Sam Howell got scooped up as part of a draft trade, but Adofo-Mensah added more competition by signing Max Brosmer.
Tom Pelissero offered the news alongside the financial details: “Former University of Minnesota QB Max Brosmer is staying home, signing with the #Vikings on a deal that includes $250,000 guaranteed, per source.”
That simple nugget — earning $250k guaranteed — tells us that multiple teams were in on Mr. Brosmer. The Vikings needed to get their elbows up, outbidding rivals for the Minnesota quarterback.
Punt returner Silas Bolden earned some good money, as Alec Lewis reveals: “Vikings are signing Texas WR Silas Bolden for $205,000 guaranteed, am told. Massive get, competitive market. Elite returner.”
Two bits of evidence in the quick news: Lewis describes a “competitive market” and the financial details — $205k guaranteed — corroborate the idea. The number doesn’t soar so high unless several teams were interested in bringing him aboard.
Defensive end Tyler Batty got some major cash, continuing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s long-standing effort to sink good money into the edge rusher spot among the UDFAs (Luiji Vilain, Andre Carter, Gabriel Murphy, etc.). Aaron Wilson comes through with the details: “#Vikings deal for @BYUfootball defensive end Tyler Batty (6-6, 271, 4.78 speed, 34 vertical, 224 career tackles, 33.5 for losses, 16.5 sacks, two interceptions) $259,000 guaranteed, $25,000 signing bonus, $234,000 of salary guaranteed for All-Big 12 selection.”
Consider, as well, offensive tackle Logan Brown. Did the OT land a large deal? The piece from Dustin Baker describes a lineman with great potential, so the contract numbers are likely to be beefy.
Worth noting, of course, that other factors play into Minnesota’s ability to attract top UDFAs. The ability to play for a well-respected coaching staff and from within top-tier facilities has its appeal. So, too, do the guys appreciate when their families are taken care of, something Minnesota has done a good job at in recent years (see the NFLPA report card).
Now, don’t step away from the piece and conclude that every impact UDFA chose Minnesota. That’s nowhere close to true. Rather, the point is that the Vikings again demonstrated an aggressive approach in this phase of offseason player acquisition, spending freely to onboard players with upside. The end result is several promising deals for players who could (should?) have been drafted.
In total, the Vikings welcomed 19 UDFAs to town following the draft (see the basic update on the team website). Being able to take a quick look under the hood to see some of the financial details — most importantly, the guaranteed money — tells us a lot about what kind of attention these players were getting from NFL teams. Seeing the guaranteed money soar past $200,000 — and, in some cases, clearing the $300,000 threshold, as with Andre Carter in ’23 — indicates that someone was a sought after talent.
Yet again, the Vikings’ bidding war tendencies showed up, resulting in some high-end UDFAs — Max Brosmer, Silas Bolden, and others — picking Minnesota to begin their NFL careers. Look for at least a couple UDFAs to get onto the 53-man roster once September arrives.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
