The Kansas City Chiefs just won their third Super Bowl title in five years, solidifying a dynasty in Kansas City that has seemingly replaced the one the New England Patriots had in place for nearly two decades. However, this third Super Bowl hits slightly differently for the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes was still on his rookie contract for Kansas City’s first Super Bowl win five years ago, allowing the team to leverage more salary cap space to build a well-rounded roster.
But in 2022 and 2023, Mahomes graduated into his current contract, making him among the league’s highest-paid players. Mahomes’ high cap hit forced the Chiefs to trade star wide receiver Tyreek Hill and hit on draft picks at a high rate to remain competitive. During the 2023 season, Mahomes had the highest cap hit in the NFL. It was the first time in NFL history a team won the Super Bowl with the highest cap hit in the NFL on the books.
While Kansas City is celebrating the fruits of its exceptional team-building, the Minnesota Vikings are at a crossroads at the quarterback position. Kirk Cousins has been Minnesota’s starter since 2018 and will head for free agency. All signs point to the veteran cashing in again despite recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in the middle of the 2023 season.
Kansas City has displayed the two paths teams can choose to build a Super Bowl team. One way that has led to the most Super Bowl wins in the last couple of decades is to employ one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the sport. New England won six titles with Tom Brady. Tampa Bay then added Brady and immediately won one. Kansas City has won three with Mahomes, two of which came after his rookie contract. Some people may also throw Peyton Manning in the mix here.
To clarify, the employ-an-all-time-great-quarterback route is not realistic for the Vikings. Brady remains retired, and Mahomes isn’t going anywhere. So, if Minnesota wants to win a Lombardi trophy, it’ll have to go the more practical route. They have to hit on a franchise quarterback in the draft and maximize the roster while that quarterback is on his rookie contract.
Look back at Super Bowl matchups in the past 20 years, and you’ll find nearly all of them include a star young quarterback still on his rookie contract. It was Brock Purdy this season. Last season, Jalen Hurts. Then it was Joe Burrow. Before that, it was Mahomes in back-to-back years. Jared Goff with the Los Angeles Rams. Even in 2017, the Philadelphia Eagles earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC thanks to Carson Wentz’s fantastic play on a rookie contract before Nick Foles took over in the playoffs and won the Super Bowl.
Cam Newton’s MVP season in 2015 came at the end of his rookie contract and resulted in a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl berth. Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls. He won one of them on his rookie deal, allowing Seattle to thrive off the Legion of Boom. The list goes on and on.
That brings us back to the Vikings. Cousins has been a solid franchise quarterback for Minnesota over the last several years. He has won more than he’s lost. Statistically, he’s among the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL. In the past few years, Cousins’ play has kept the Vikings competitive despite a roster that probably shouldn’t have been.
The issue with Cousins isn’t that he can’t make the necessary plays. It’s that his contract has repeatedly held back the rest of the roster. Cousins’ large cap hit puts significant pressure on the front office to find hidden gems in the draft or free agency on a strict budget. Brady and Mahomes have shown they can get away with it. But Cousins? Not really. Cousins is a large step down from those two revered names. And that’s not a knock on Cousins.
I’m not saying general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shouldn’t bring Cousins back. But letting another season go by without selecting Cousins’ successor as the franchise quarterback would be a mistake. So be it if this new franchise quarterback sits behind Cousins for a season. Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith for a season and seems to be doing just fine.
Let’s not forget about Jordan Love. Like it or not, the Green Bay Packers are in a better long-term position than Minnesota because they invested in the quarterback position, and it’s paying off. Love already has as many playoff wins as Cousins in one season as a starter.
The most seamless way for teams to earn Super Bowl opportunities is to employ a star quarterback on a rookie contract. It’s a tried-and-true formula used by essentially one Super Bowl team every year. The Vikings have been actively shying away from this philosophy ever since they brought Cousins on board.
It’s time for Vikings ownership and Adofo-Mensah to show they’re serious about winning Super Bowls. In two and a half months, the Vikings will have the opportunity to get their guy, their franchise quarterback. They can’t let another chance slip away while the rest of the league passes them by.
