{"id":779737,"date":"2026-02-27T11:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/779737\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T11:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:34:16","slug":"the-vikings-are-43-million-over-the-salary-cap-heres-how-theyre-likely-to-fix-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/779737\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vikings are $43 million over the salary cap. Here\u2019s how they\u2019re likely to fix it"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 The NFL salary cap is a bit like a credit card. Teams can extend costs into the future. At some point, though, the bill must be paid.<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Vikings know this. Before 2022, the team navigated a bloated cap situation by pushing money forward. The current circumstances are less dire, but they can\u2019t be swept under the rug when it comes to the team\u2019s plans for 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spent a lot of money,\u201d Vikings interim general manager Rob Brzezinski said this week in Indianapolis. \u201cSo our goal is to keep our core in place, and that\u2019s going to involve making some difficult decisions on players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only the Dallas Cowboys are over the cap more than Minnesota. The Vikings have to clear $43 million \u2014 more if they want to be in the market for supplemental talent \u2014 to become cap compliant. These dynamics will affect their pursuit of a veteran quarterback. They also matter in terms of the level of free-agent additions they can make.<\/p>\n

Chiseling away at the $43 million total is the first order of business over the next couple of weeks. Multiple avenues are in play. Between Brzezinski, salary-cap consultant Matt Thomas and senior manager of football administration Emily Badis, the Vikings will continue to sift through potential scenarios. Releases, pay cuts, contract restructures and extensions are all likely.<\/p>\n

What could Minnesota\u2019s approach look like? Here is a look at some of the possibilities:<\/p>\n

Pay cuts<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t as easy as it might appear. It is a difficult conversation to ask a player (and agent) who had previously signed a contract to shave money off their deal. This is partially why the in-person touchpoints in Indianapolis during the NFL combine<\/a> are important.<\/p>\n

Brzezinski\u2019s longtime relationships and negotiating experience have helped the Vikings secure many pay cuts in the past. Typically, the candidates who fit this profile are aging players coming off unexpectedly down seasons, whose cap numbers don\u2019t match their level of production.<\/p>\n

Tight end T.J. Hockenson, running back Aaron Jones, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and several other Vikings could fall into this category. Hockenson, for example, has a $21 million cap number for 2026, the highest among NFL tight ends. While much of his dip in performance in 2025 can be tied to poor quarterback play and inconsistent offensive-line availability, Hockenson hovers closer to the middle tier of tight ends. Taking money off his cap number is going to require some gymnastics.<\/p>\n

Hockenson\u2019s flexibility and willingness to hear this pitch from the Vikings will matter. So will his preference to either stay in Minnesota or move on. These layers are similar for Jones, Allen and others.<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, this route has the potential to remove a chunk of the Vikings\u2019 cap deficit.<\/p>\n

Converting guaranteed money into signing bonuses<\/p>\n

Salary-cap strategists structure contracts with flexibility. Oftentimes, this means guaranteeing a certain amount of money that can later be converted to a signing bonus. This is one of those credit-card maneuvers. It\u2019s a lever teams have when they want short-term wiggle room. It\u2019s especially palatable with young players whose production isn\u2019t likely to drop off.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Vikings have set up multiple contracts to make adjustments on the fly. A perfect example is with superstar receiver Justin Jefferson. A hefty amount of his 2026 salary can be tweaked and shifted. Raising his cost for 2027 isn\u2019t ideal, but it\u2019s sensible considering the confidence the team has in Jefferson\u2019s prime.<\/p>\n

Minnesota can be nimble with the contracts of other core players, such as edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Younger players with consistency are typically the best options for these decisions. They\u2019re definitely on the table to help the overall picture.<\/p>\n

Extensions<\/p>\n

Brzezinski has executed a handful of extensions in recent years. Players gain additional security, while the team cements core players at fixed costs. Because each side compromises in these deals, the team tends to decrease its salary-cap number in the short term. This offers more freedom.<\/p>\n

Right tackle Brian O\u2019Neill is the most obvious player currently in this situation. He is entering the final year of his deal, and his cap number is projected to be around $23 million, the third largest on the roster.<\/p>\n

Minnesota values O\u2019Neill as a player and person. His reliability is unquestionable. O\u2019Neill, 30, loves playing in Minnesota, and the two sides executed a contract extension in 2021. Any deal would benefit the Vikings\u2019 ability to get more creative in the present.<\/p>\n

Roster cuts<\/p>\n

Every offseason, teams move on from players. Absorbing a dead cap charge is no simple matter (the cash is still paid by ownership), but it is a route that can lead to more cap versatility.<\/p>\n

Releasing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave would add $10 million of space. Parting with center Ryan Kelly would open up more than $8 million. Their departures would leave significant holes on the defensive line and at center, but if their availability and performance are a little better than those of replacement-level players, cuts like these are necessary to build the optimal team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 The NFL salary cap is a bit like a credit card. Teams can extend costs into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":779738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,156,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-779737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-vikings","11":"tag-minnesotavikings","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-sports-business","14":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116142385939466773","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}