The Vikings’ Cap Space Has Slimmed Down
The Vikings’ cap space was always going to drop by a decent amount.
The arrival of the NFL regular season means lifting some of the offseason’s cap saving tricks. More specifically, the team now has to account for the full roster while also accounting for the 16-player practice squad. Add in a recent addition or two — most prominently, veteran receiver Adam Thielen — and Minnesota’s budget was always going to shrink. The team finds itself at $16,478,270 in open room.***
The Vikings’ Cap Space & The 2025 Financial Outlook
Start off with something that’s not of immediate concern: the 2026 budget.
In the NFL, unused cap space within a given year gets rolled over into the next season’s budget. So, for instance, the Vikings could finish off the 2025 season with an even $10 million in space that hasn’t been chewed up. The team would get to carry that over into 2026, helping to fund future spending in the process.
Currently, the Vikings are a projected $53.7 million over next year’s cap.
There are only forty-five players being considered and already there’s a salary cap mess. Note that the Harrison Phillips trade out of Minnesota has cleared room next year and there’s still that mountain of debt. The basic point is simply to say that much needs to be done to get next year’s finances in order.
That’s part of the reason why adding Adam Thielen came at a cost.
Yes, there was the draft compensation that got sent over. That’s the most obvious way that Minnesota had to pay for the receiver: moving out draft assets. But then there’s the reality of committing above $7 million of the current salary cap budget to the older receiver. Not a backbreaking amount, but precious cap space nevertheless.
At his price tag, Mr. Thielen is carrying a cap charge that’s double what Jordan Addison offers.
Spin that in a different manner. Addison is largely responsible for the receiver concern in Minnesota due to his suspension. Had Addison been available from Week 1 onward, then an Adam Thielen trade may not happen, preserving the Vikings’ cap space and picks in the process. Not only did Addison deprive the team of his on-field excellence but also contributed toward needing to remedy the broader depth concerns. There has been an impact on the finances and the draft picks as a result.
Now, the upside is that Minnesota is sitting in a reasonably favorable position if we only consider the present moment.
The Vikings’ cap space comes in at close to $16.5 million. That’s an amount that sits within the NFL’s top half. The full cupboard of drafts picks means that trades are plausible. One wonders if the approach is to see how the team performs and then decide on potential trades closer to the deadline. If the roster proves formidable and the record promising, then forfeit a pick or two — alongside some of that open room — to make the Super Bowl push a bit more fascinating.
In other words, Adofo-Mensah may allow the team itself to dictate how the remaining resources — the picks and cap space — should get used.
Proving to be an excellent team in 2025 may mean investing more in 2025, upping the chance of winning it all in the process. Proving to be a poor team in 2025 may involve looking past 2025, selling off players in an effort to bring in more draft picks while freeing up more cap space to help in the future.
Minnesota’s season begins in less than two weeks when they travel to Chicago for Monday Night Football.
*** The number is likely to diminish by a small amount soon since Carson Wentz’s contract hasn’t been factored into the mix. Neither has the signing of K’Von Wallace.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
