Jun 7, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter (99) performs a drill during mandatory mini camp at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings agreed to a reworked contract with outside linebacker Danielle Hunter at the end of July, ending several months’ worth of mystery regarding his future with the team.
Hunter will remain in Minnesota for one year at a $17 million pricepoint, expandable to $20 million with incentives.
Initial reporting suggested the incentives were tied to sack totals in 2023, confirmed this weekend by Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.
The enhancements are straightforward. The more sacks Hunter tallies, the higher his paycheck climbs:
Hunter has tabulated 11+ sacks in a season thrice, 12+ sacks thrice, and 14+ twice. If he achieves the monetary incentives, the money will apply to the Vikings salary cap next year.
His career in purple hits an inflection point in 2023, as the pass rusher will turn 29 in October, and he’s only attached to the Vikings for one more season — this one. And if a long-term decision is up to Hunter — assuming the money is right — the defender may never leave the Vikings, according to his musings at training camp. Hunter told a gallery of reporters on July 31st, “I want to be a Viking forever.”
Minnesota found Hunter in Round 3 of the 2015 NFL Draft, a steal of a deal by former general manager Rick Spielman.
“I love this organization. I’ve always been an advocate for these dudes. I’m happy to be back, happy to get back out there with my teammates, and just want to get out there and play football. It’s been a long process, but I’m here now, and I’m ready to work,” Hunter added two weeks ago.
After an offseason-long ‘will he or won’t he’ stay with the Vikings, Hunter and the Vikings brass met in the middle, paying the pass rusher market value while evidently setting up a discussion on Hunter’s next contract in seven months. The LSU alumnus is slated to hit open free agency for the first time next March, in addition to Vikings players like Kirk Cousins, K.J. Osborn, and Marcus Davenport, to name a few.
And if he terrorizes quarterbacks to the tune of 11 sacks or more, he’ll get richer, almost by the play.
Pro Football Focus graded Hunter as the sport’s seventh-best EDGE defender in 2022 with an 87.1 score.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.