The Vikings seem to have an all time salary cap wizard in Rob Brezinski. Every time a new contract is announced, it feels like Minnesota is two years away from being absolutely screwed. Yet when those two years pass, there’s the Vikings, coasting along and signing new contracts. They are easily near the top of the league in managing their money.
Just a week ago, Viking fans were spending their time worrying about a possible hold out of their all pro defensive end, Danielle Hunter. Now here we are, days later, with members of the media lauding the agreement the organization.
The latest to jump on the bandwagon is Pro Football Focus. In a recent article, they listed the best and worst contract for every organization and the newly minted Hunter deal was the Viking choice for best.
PFF wrote:
Best: Edge Danielle Hunter — Five years, $72 million ($8.9 million in remaining guarantees)
There’s a reason Hunter waited to report to the Minnesota Vikings facility this offseason, even following a season-ending injury in 2020. It’s this contract. Hunter and Stefon Diggs signed identical deals back in 2018, and both were extremely underpaid within a matter of snaps.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Vikings and Hunter struck an agreement on Monday that converted $5.6 million of Hunter’s 2021 salary into a signing bonus, while also adding an $18 million roster bonus that becomes due on the fifth day of the 2022 league year next March. The roster bonus will effectively serve as a trigger date (read: ultimatum) for Minnesota to either give Hunter a new long-term extension or let him test free agency. Even following this update, Hunter’s deal is still an incredible value, and the restructuring of his salary into a bonus appears to have enabled Minnesota to sign Sheldon Richardson in the process.
Minnesota’s edge rushers ranked 29th as a collective unit in 2020 with a 57.2 cumulative grade, and they desperately need Hunter back in the fold. From 2018-19, Hunter’s 154 pressures ranked first among players at the position.
If Danielle proves to be healthy and plays up to his previous ability, somehow this contract will look even better
For the bad they selected Anthony Barr.
PFF wrote:
Worst: LB Anthony Barr — Five years, $67.5 million ($10 million in remaining guarantees)
Yet another contract that has since been revised ahead of the 2021 season, with Barr now set to become a free agent after agreeing to a pay cut to stick around for one more year. Barr had reportedly agreed to terms with the New York Jets on a free-agent deal in the 2019 offseason, but just before the ink had dried, the Vikings swooped in at the eleventh hour to bring him back to Minnesota. They certainly regret that decision in hindsight and have now cut his deal short to get out from under it sooner.
This one is a head scratcher in a number of ways. I get complaining about the original deal if you’re not an Anthony Barr fan, but listing the contract and then mentioning that it’s being revised makes listing the original contract pointless.
Beyond that, one could argue reducing him to a one-year deal and giving the team freedom makes it one of the better contracts on the team. One could also argue that fans and the media truly don’t understand Anthony Barr‘s impact. I don’t know how many times people have to hear head coach Mike Zimmer talk about how Anthony Barr impacts the game before they realize how good he is. He might not run sideline to sideline like Ray Lewis or blow up the quarterback like Lawrence Taylor but Anthony Barr is an extremely skilled linebacker who does all the things Minnesota needs him to.
My assumption is after this season with the salary cap going up he will return to a deal like the one he was on. And then I’m sure Pro Football Focus will once again list how bad it is.
