Eight Vikings Rookies Signed. One Didn’t.
This year’s draft class has brought nine new athletes to the Twin Cities, four more than last year’s picks. Rookie minicamp opened Friday for the Minnesota Vikings, and nearly the entire draft class arrived with signed contracts in hand.
The Vikings wrote on their website, “The Vikings on Friday announced they have signed eight of the nine players selected during the 2026 NFL Draft. Caleb Banks, Domonique Orange, Caleb Tiernan, Jakobe Thomas, Max Bredeson, Charles Demmings, Demond Claiborne and Gavin Gerhardt were able to finalize their first pro contracts before Friday’s rookie minicamp practice.”
The overall salary is pre-negotiated, but the guarantees and some details in the contract structure aren’t set in stone. Still, it’s primarily a procedural move. League-wide, only a couple of deals per draft class cause significant headlines.
With eight down, Minnesota has lowered the headline risk to a minimum, but there’s still one guy remaining. Second-round linebacker Jake Golday has not signed his contract.
Golday sits in one of the most important negotiating slots in the entire rookie market. Each year, more and more rookies sign fully guaranteed contracts. In fact, last year, the top 40 draft choices signed fully guaranteed deals. Minnesota’s new defender was picked 49th overall. He might shoot for a fully guaranteed deal, or close to it.
D’Angelo Ponds, who went one pick after Golday to the New York Jets, didn’t have his entire cash guaranteed.
Tyler Forness of A to Z Sports did the math: “Ponds got 90.9% of his contract fully guaranteed. That is 13% more than last year’s 50th overall pick, Seattle Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo, who got 77.9% fully guaranteed. This will likely impact Golday’s negotiations.”
“Last year, Carolina Panthers edge rusher Nic Scourton was the 51st overall pick and got $6,660,008 of his $8,614,236 contract fully guaranteed. That equates to 77.3%. If we use the Ponds selection to equate proper inflation, Golday will have approximately $8,744,791 of his $9,684,154 fully guaranteed.”
Of course, those are minor details and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter if he’ll be getting an extra $100,000 in 2029 guaranteed or not, but it’s still fascinating to see the line move each year. Like all rookies, he’ll eventually sign his contract over the next couple of months and suit up in September.
Once the final contract is settled, attention can turn fully to how quickly this rookie class can contribute.
Golday could have an immediate role in Brian Flores’ defense thanks to his versatility. Though drafted as a linebacker, he also spent time rushing off the edge in college, giving Flores another movable chess piece after Jonathan Greenard’s departure.
The Vikings are also counting on contributions from defensive tackles Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange. Orange is viewed as one of the safer prospects in the class and could quickly carve out a role in the defensive line rotation. Banks brings more upside as an explosive interior disruptor, though his ongoing recovery from a second foot injury could slow his start to the season.
In the secondary, safety Jakobe Thomas enters a room with an opportunity available. With Harrison Smith’s future still uncertain and no established pecking order behind Joshua Metellus, Thomas could compete for meaningful snaps earlier than expected.
Elsewhere, fullback Max Bredeson and running back Demond Claiborne add more physicality and versatility to Kevin O’Connell’s offense, while offensive linemen Caleb Tiernan and Gavin Gerhardt provide developmental depth in the trenches.
Golday’s unsigned status is not a cause for concern, but rather a reflection of the changing rookie contract landscape across the NFL. Second-round picks are increasingly pushing for stronger guarantees, and agents around the league are using every new deal as leverage for the next one.
Eventually, the linebacker will put pen to paper and officially join the rest of Minnesota’s rookie class. Once that happens, the focus can fully shift from contract details to football — and the Vikings are clearly expecting several members of this group to contribute sooner rather than later.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.