Wm. Glasheen-USA TODAY Sports
All things considered, the Vikings’ cap is sitting in a good spot for 2025.
Over the Cap suggests that Minnesota is operating with somewhere around $54.5 million in open room. Now, keep in mind that looking at a team’s salary cap is like watching a game of ping pong: things go back and forth with great regularity. The simple fact that Dallas Turner and J.J. McCarthy are yet to sign their rookie deals means that the budget isn’t accounting for a pair of highly-picked players. Just those two will push things below $50 million.
Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Dallas Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dallas Turner is selected as the No. 17 pick by the Minnesota Vikings during the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Regardless, the point remains that things are looking pretty tidy. Justin Jefferson is extended and Christian Darrisaw’s 5th-year option is in the mix. Even with those tossed in, though, there’s still plenty of open room to do business, so what’s the catch?
Dead money.
Part of how Minnesota is financing the current season is through void years to stretch out signing bonuses. Players like Sam Darnold and Aaron Jones are seeing their 2024 cap hits lowered due to the tactic from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. But while that means good things right now, the downside is almost certainly going to be some dead money charges in 2025. Not as bad as 2024, no, but still a hurdle that needs to be cleared.
The Vikings’ Cap in 2025 Will Still be Digesting Dead Money
At some point, an NFL salary cap comes for the signing bonus. It’s as inevitable as the masked monster in a slasher flick. The key is just when things occur.
Consider, for instance, running back Aaron Jones. The most basic understanding of his deal is that he came to Minnesota for a single season and $7 million. By no means is that an inaccurate statement and yet it’s one that doesn’t capture the full complexity of how the cap works. After all, Jones’ cap charge in 2024 is just $3.5 million. What gives?
Dec 31, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33) and Minnesota Vikings cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. (23) push each other after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
A quick look under the hood — shout out to Over the Cap — reveals the tactic used by Adofo-Mensah.
Minnesota’s GM tacked on four additional void years to the contract. Doing so helped to dilute the potency of the signing bonus, stretching it out over five years rather than just a single season. The $4 million signing bonus got chopped up into $800,000 increments with only a single portion hitting the books in 2024.
If Jones walks in 2025, playing anywhere except Minnesota, the left over $3.2 million is going to hit the books and become immovable. The real money will have already been paid but the Vikings’ budget will have cap space — $3.2 million of it — inaccessible due to the remnants of the Jones deal.
Feb 28, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo Mensah speaks to the press at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
A similar thing is going on for other players.
Darnold’s single-season deal was for $10 million but he only has a $5 million cap charge in 2024. If/when J.J. McCarthy takes over in 2025, Minnesota will account for the remaining $5 million in 2025. Once again, a signing bonus got chopped up across void years: five equal portions of $1.25 million. The first portion hits the books in 2024 but the final four will get worked into the accounting for 2025 if Darnold isn’t in town any longer.
Shaq Griffin, Jerry Tillery, Dan Feeney, and Dalton Risner (among others) are examples of free agents who didn’t see void years attached to their deals. Notably, the players mentioned above are all ones making less than $5 million.
Nov 5, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Brandon Powell (4) celebrates after a touchdown with guard Dalton Risner (66) against the Atlanta Falcons in the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Keep in mind, as well, that the longer-term deals have void years working their short-term magic.
Justin Jefferson stands out. His four-year, $140 million commitment has a fifth year in the form of a void year. That fake fifth year is carrying $6 million in dead money for 2029. Jonathan Greenard’s four-year, $76 million deal is supposed to leave behind $3.3 million in dead money in 2028. Blake Cashman is impacting 2027, Andrew Van Ginkel 2026, and so on.
The GM, in short, isn’t at all skittish when it comes to pushing dead money into the future.
Currently, Minnesota is among the league leaders for dead money since the 2024 budget is digesting $57,391,874 in dead money. Kirk Cousins, Danielle Hunter, and Marcus Davenport are the main contributors to that fund.
Minnesota has more than $26 million in cap space for 2024, a number that will shrink once McCarthy and Turner get their deals done.
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 as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
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Publish date : 2024-07-04 09:15:00
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