BREAKING: Vikings and Adam Thielen Reach 4-Year, $64 million Extension
Sean Borman
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The Minnesota Vikings on Friday reached a contract extension with wide receiver Adam Thielen. Thielen, 28, is a two-time Pro Bowler coming off a career year. In 2018 he caught 113 passes for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns.
Thielen’s agent, Blake Baratz, first shared the news on Instagram. The four-year extension is reportedly worth $64 million. Incentives could push the value of the contract up to $73 million.
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The Detroit Lakes (MN) native joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He notoriously played college football at Minnesota State, Mankato. The former Maverick busted out in 2016, leading the team with 69 catches for 967 and five touchdowns.
In 2017 Thielen agreed to a three-year, $17 million extension with the Vikings. He quickly outperformed the deal. His production, which has increased every year he’s been in the league, has still yet to peak. The last two seasons he hauled in 204 catches for 2,649 yards and 13 touchdowns.
In 2018 Thielen earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 89.5, by far the highest mark on Minnesota’s offense. That was due in part to him becoming the first player in NFL history to record eight consecutive games with 100-plus receiving yards to start a season.
The part that didn’t match his production was his contract. His cap hits were $3.746M and $6.1M the last two seasons. His new contract will average $16 million per year. The cool part is depending on how the contract is structured, it could lower Thielen’s $8.1M cap hit for the upcoming season. That would benefit the team financially as the Vikings currently have about $2 million in salary cap space per the NFLPA.
It would be nice if Thielen’s deal potentially created some cap relief with the draft less than two weeks away, but more importantly the team decided to lock up it’s top playmaker on offense through the 2024 season… when Thielen will be 34 years young.