Sansevere: Brzezinski is da real Vikings MVP
Bob Sansevere
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The Vikings will not play a game for a number of months, but we already know who the team MVP is.
Rob Brzezinski.
Capsuled, Brzezinski is the one allowing the Vikings to make chicken salad out of what looked to be a giant chicken turd.
Brzezinski is the Vikings’ capologist. He manipulates, maneuvers and massages the salary cap so it can work, so the Vikings can sign decent players, so Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer have a better chance of keeping their jobs.
The Vikings went from being mired in the deep stuff to adding several players that should increase the opportunity for a playoff run. Cornerback Patrick Peterson and nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, as examples, are big-time acquisitions.
It’s because of Brzezinski, who has been overcoming challenges since he was a little kid and learned to spell his last name. He will rework a deal to make another deal work.
Here’s an example of some of the fiscal magic Brzezinski pulled off, as described by the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson in a tweet, “ For room for Patrick Peterson, Vikings convert $10 million of Adam Thielen base salary of $11.1M to signing bonus dropping base to $1.1M & saving $7.5M cap room. His 2021 cap number goes from $13.468,500 to $5,968,500 Has cap numbers of $16.945M in 22, $17,95M in 23, $17,1M in 23.”
Got all that? Doesn’t matter if you do or don’t. The point is, Brzezinski is a creative fellow. Which is nothing new. He’s the guy who came up with the poison pill clause that brought Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson from the Seahawks back in 2006.
The Seahawks were plenty pissed when Brzezinski, along with Hutchinson’s agent, devised never-before-used clauses that included guaranteeing the entire contract if Hutchinson was not the highest-paid lineman on his team. The Vikings could make that work. Brzezinski knew the Seahawks couldn’t because of the haul they already had given tackle Walter Jones.
He’s an astute fella, this Brzezinski.
Anyway, no matter how bad the salary cap looks, Brzezinski will make it look a whole lot better.
Bob Sansevere’s daily podcast, “The BS Show,” also is broadcast on radio stations in Duluth (KDAL), Hibbing (WNMT) and St. Cloud (WBHR).