The Vikings’ Dead Money Pile After the FA Tumble
The Vikings’ dead money situation was always going to grow worse. The only thing that was uncertain was how bad things would get.
As things stand, Minnesota is sitting on worse than $35 million in cap space that has been immobilized for the 2026 season (Over the Cap). No levers can get pulled or some sort of shenanigans to move money around. That’s an amount that must be burned up before moving onto the 2027 budget in March of 2027.
The Vikings’ Dead Money Lands at $35M
Lately, the news has focused on additions.
QB Carson Wentz is helping to fortify the depth under center. OT Ryan Van Demark is being viewed as a strong upgrade as the swing tackle, better equipping Minnesota to navigate the snaps/games where one of Christian Darrisaw or Brian O’Neill miss time. Mr. Wentz is chewing up roughly $3 million in cap space while Mr. Van Demark is likely chewing up $4.2 million in cap space.
With all of the shuffling from recent days, the Vikings’ cap space (and dead money) has been difficult to track. OTC puts Minnesota at somewhere around $4 million whereas Spotrac is a touch more optimistic, dropping down a $9 million number.
A major factor within the consideration of the budget is the dead money.
The $35 million that’s being immobilized is comprised of a lot of different players who have been shown the door. In particular, there’s the well-paid DT twosome who inspired a pile of optimism last offseason: Jonathan Allen ($12.6M) and Javon Hargrave ($10.5M). Missing on the trench defenders was costly, a reality that’s true metaphorically and literally.
Consider, as well, that Minnesota is digesting a touch beyond $3.5 million in dead money for the Harrison Phillips trade, a move that was at least partially in response to employing Allen and Hargrave.
Other medium-level dead money hits — Ryan Kelly at $3.3M, Harrison Smith at $3M (who still has a chance to play), and Garrett Bradbury at $1.6M — are joined by several more who left behind numbers in the six figures.
Next year, the Vikings’ dead money situation is already showing some wear and tear.
Part of the reason why cutting Allen and Smith in a post-June 1 manner creates more cap space for 2026 is due to pushing some of that dead money into 2027. Add up the future cap pain and Minnesota sees $12.266M taken out of next year’s budget already.
Worse yet, there are several Vikings players who are seeing their deals come to an end in a way that leaves dead money on the books.
Due to void year tomfoolery, Andrew Van Ginkel ($8.8M), T.J. Hockenson ($7.11M), Blake Cashman ($3.1M), and Jordan Mason ($2.4M) are going to take a bite out of the available spending power even though they’re not getting cut or traded, the usual outcomes that involve dead money. That’s more than $20 million tossed onto the pile if all walk away.
Avoiding the dead money charges will mean needing to extend these players. In that scenario, the Vikings will continue stretching things out, deferring the bill to another day.
In June, the Vikings are going to see roughly $12 million in cap space added to the mix. Look for more money to get tossed onto the pile with an extension for Brian O’Neill and possibly another player or two.
Stunningly, the Miami Dolphins are working through an NFL-worst $179 million in dead money.
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