There are a lot of interesting discussions to take place with the Minnesota Vikings, with the biggest being WR Jordan Addison.
Minnesota Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley has a lot of interesting decisions on his plate in trying to build up the infrastructure of the roster. The two biggest ones currently are wide receiver Jordan Addison and right tackle Brian O'Neill .
Negotiating contracts isn't the easiest thing to do in the world, especially with a multitude of factors at play. Both parties need to come to an agreement, and with new contract extensions happening regularly, that makes it a little more difficult.
To get some outside perspective on the discussion, I spoke with fellow A to Z Sports writer Kyle Crabbs for a mock negotiation.
If I'm new Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley and EVP of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski, I'm swearing the Green Bay Packers up and down for their Christian Watson contract from earlier this offseason. It probably does set a logical floor to the conversation that's north of $23M annual average for Addison after that's where Watson and Green Bay landed on a four-year extension this summer. The case to hedge lower for Addison and "protecting the franchise" against risk sits in his notable off-field pattern. But Watson comes with his own fair share of risk due to durability concerns, so Addison's camp is going to have fair game to put the conversation at and above that number.
Building our offer is going to revolve around annual average salary as a percentage of the cap. This figure can give us era-adjusted valuations amid a rapidly rising salary cap and a frantic explosion of wide receiver salaries. Names we're willing to invoke in the conversation alongside Addison as some of his comparable peers:
Detroit's Jameson Williams
Philadelphia's DeVonta Smith
Watson
The annual average salary as a percentage of salary cap for those three players is 9.55%, 9.79%, and 7.64%. If the Addison camp makes the mistake of referencing the Tee Higgins camp, we'll gladly take the historical precedent set with that deal. It gave Higgins an artificially high annual average salary on the surface, but only $40.9M in practical guarantees and $30M guaranteed at signing out of a possible $115 million total. Williams got $66.5M in practical guarantees on a deal that averaged more than $2M less per season.
We're going to push as hard as possible to hold him to an annual average salary as a percentage of cap at or below 9%, which, against a $301.2M salary cap, would be $27.1M per season. If Addison wants more than that, it's going to come with an exceptionally short runway of guaranteed at signing money. But going above 9% AAV as a percentage of cap, with where things stand with Addison right now, is going to be a tough pill to swallow because he doesn't come without some risk and we don't know what our long-term economic situation at quarterback looks like, either.
Hearing that from Crabbs helps solidify my projection from May : three years, $82.5 million, with $34 million fully guaranteed.
| Year |
Base Salary |
Prorated Signing Bonus |
Per Game Roster Bonus |
Workout Bonus |
Guaranteed Salary |
Cap Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |
$1,215,000 |
$4,746,679 |
$0 |
$0 |
$1,125,000 |
$5,961,679 |
| 2027 |
$10,507,510 |
$3,000,000 |
$750,000 |
$100,000 |
$11,357,150 |
$14,357,510 |
| 2028 |
$22,000,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$750,000 |
$100,000 |
$22,850,000 |
$25,850,000 |
| 2029 |
$25,000,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$750,000 |
$100,000 |
$15,647,510 |
$28,850,000 |
| 2030 |
$26,000,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$750,000 |
$100,000 |
$0 |
$29,850,000 |
| 2031 |
Void |
$0 |
Void |
Void |
Void |
$0 |
| 2032 |
Void |
$0 |
Void |
Void |
Void |
$0 |
| 2033 |
Void |
$0 |
Void |
Void |
Void |
$0 |
| Total |
$84,632,510 |
$16,749,679 |
$3,000,000 |
$400,000 |
$50,979,660 |
$104,869,189 |
That number is slightly over the 9% threshold that Crabbs mentioned, but it makes sense to go that direction. Addison getting this much would be a major investment and also projecting him to take the next step forward.
It's not crazy to think about Addison taking the next step and elevating to a bona fide WR1. If he does that, $27.5 million would end up being a steal by the time he actually enters the extension in the 2028 season.
Will the Vikings make the move? Time will tell, but there are a lot of interesting elements to the conversation.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Jordan Addison's contract negotiation has many hurdles, with one key element likely determining a resolution
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