Vikings Free Agency Frenzy Continues
Mitchel Massman
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The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best salary cap gurus on their staff. Rob Brzezinski has been with the team for 29 years and continues to show why he is the best in the business. After the terms of Za’Darius’ contract became public, it’s clear the Vikings’ free agency frenzy will continue.
The Vikings announced that Za’Darius Smith was signing a 3-year contract. This contract is worth up to $14 million per year with incentives. However, last night, the details emerged of how Za’Darius’ contract would affect the overall cap space for the Vikings. And my goodness, Brzezinski is a genius.
Smith will earn $42 million over the next three years. Although, his cap number is comically low in 2022. He will cost the Vikings a whopping $3.3 million against the cap this year. This is bizarre, to say the least.
How did the Vikings keep his cap number so low this year?
They utilized contract incentives. More specifically, they employed a per-game roster bonus. The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) determines if a bonus is “likely to be earned” or “not likely to be earned.” In this case, the bonus is “not likely to be earned” because Smith did not play in 16 games last year.
Therefore, if Smith plays every game this year, the bonus is paid out. However, the bonus would not affect the cap number for 2022. Instead, the bonus would be paid in salary cap year 2023.
More Free Agency Spending On The Way
The Vikings are primed and ready to continue spending this free agency. That should be music to the ears of all Vikings fans because this roster is nowhere near ready to compete. There are holes in the secondary and offensive line that need to be addressed.
The good news is that they still have a good amount of cap space remaining to make some deals. After Danielle Hunters’ restructure and Za’Darius Smith’s signing, the Vikings have over $11 million in cap space. However, this does not yet include Adam Thielen’s restructure, which will free up an additional $4 million.
That brings the Vikings to $15 million to be spent. This is enough space to bring in a cornerback or two and a guard or center. Especially if Brzezinski can work some weird voodoo dark magic as he did with Za’Darius Smith.
A Cornerback is Still a Target
Many fans and journalists alike have wondered when the Vikings will address a glaring hole in the secondary. Hopefully, one of those signings will be Patrick Peterson. In the meantime, the Vikings signed Chandon Sullivan on Friday.
Chandon Sullivan is not a high-profile target. However, he does add some depth to the cornerback room. His PFF rankings since being drafted in 2018:
- 2018 – 33.3
- 2019 – 73.1
- 2020 – 62.2
- 2021 – 55.0
Sullivan will not be the last cornerback the Vikings bring in for a visit.
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