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Credit: Denny Simmons \/ The Tennessean \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Denny Simmons \/ The Tennessean \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings employee turnover started at the top, when general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was kicked to the curb<\/a>. The quarterback room was then rejuvenated, with the addition of Kyler Murray<\/a>. They\u2019ve also added depth at cornerback<\/a> and offensive tackle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Special teams was something of a mainstay over the past couple of seasons in Minnesota. Matt Daniels has been the special teams coordinator for the past five seasons<\/a>. And for the last two years, he\u2019s been coaching kicker Will Reichard, punter Ryan Wright, and All-Pro long-snapper Andrew DePaola.<\/p>\n Johnny Hekker MN Vikings contract revealed<\/p>\n Then this offseason, the 25-year-old Wright opted to sign a four-year deal<\/a> with the New Orleans Saints, forcing the Vikings to look elsewhere at punter for the first time since signing Wright as an undrafted free agent in 2022.<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s response was to sign 36-year-old veteran<\/a>, Johnny Hekker. 2026 will be Hekker\u2019s 15th season in the National Football League. And on Friday, we got the details behind the new punter\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n Johnny Hekker’s deal with the #Vikings<\/a> is a veteran minimum salary benefit contract; he has a cap hit of $1,262,500 and a cash value of $1,487,500. $225K of his $1.3M base won’t count against the cap. <\/p>\n Base is fully guaranteed, and he gets a $187,500 signing bonus.<\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) March 27, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n While he\u2019s hardly the All-Pro he was earlier in his career, but the MN Vikings won\u2019t complain about his league-minimum deal, after their previous guy just got paid three times that.<\/p>\n What are Vikings getting with Hekker?<\/p>\n For a six-year period from 2013 through 2018, Hekker was a perennial All-Pro selection. He made first team four times, and on the second team in the other two seasons. Unfortunately the numbers took quite a tumble with the Titans last season.<\/p>\n In 17 games with Tennessee<\/a>, Hekker allowed 370 return yards and had a net punt average of just 40.3 yards. His seven touchbacks were a career-high, and he landed just 22 inside the 20. Now this far into his career, it\u2019s possible he could simply be cooked.<\/p>\n Fortunately for Minnesota, they aren\u2019t on the hook for much of anything. At just a $1.26 million cap hit, he\u2019s well below the $2 million that Wright earned last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related:Interest Not Mutual Between MN Vikings and Star Free Agent<\/a><\/p>\n The Minnesota Vikings were never going to touch the $8 million guaranteed<\/a> that their former punter got. Although Wright had a strong year last season, he was constantly challenged with competition during training camp.<\/p>\n The Vikings will be hoping that Hekker can find a younger version of himself this season. Beyond punting though, his holding acumen for Will Reichard could be the most impactful aspect of the addition to watch.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: Johnny Hekker<\/a> <\/p>\n More About:Minnesota Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n Add MinnesotaSportsFan as a preferred source on Google. \t\t\t![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/google_preferred_source_badge.png\"){kind=icon}
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