{"id":849232,"date":"2026-04-02T12:50:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849232\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:50:25","slug":"jordan-addisons-fifth-year-option-paints-a-clear-picture-why-the-nfl-draft-is-so-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849232\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan Addison’s fifth-year option paints a clear picture why the NFL Draft is so important"},"content":{"rendered":"

After picking up wide receiver Jordan Addison\u2019s fifth-year option this week, the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 salary cap situation is clearer, and it paints a major importance on April\u2019s NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Mar
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMar 31, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the NFL Owners Meetings brought news that the Minnesota Vikings were planning to exercise the fifth-year option<\/a> on wide receiver Jordan Addison<\/a>. It was a no-brainer to make the move since it\u2019s only $18 million for 2027.<\/p>\n

Locking him up is a win for the future of the Vikings. He is key to unlocking Justin Jefferson down the field, as Addison thrives attacking single coverage in the same way. What his fifth-year option does is change the salary cap situation over the next few seasons.<\/p>\n

The A to Z Sports NFL mock draft simulator offers a deeply customizable and data-driven experience with never-before-seen features. Try the mock draft simulator today<\/a>, before the 2026 NFL Draft arrives!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings have intriguing salary cap outlook<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that this was always expected, as they had budgeted for an extension for Addison and right tackle Brian O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight tackle\u00a0Brian O\u2019Neill\u00a0and receiver\u00a0Jordan Addison\u00a0are among the upcoming deals the Vikings have budgeted for. It\u2019s also worth noting that Brzezinski described the Vikings\u2019 2026 roster build as being \u2018barely out of the gate here,\u2019 implying there are other ways than free agency to make substantive roster improvements,\u201d wrote ESPN\u2019s Kevin Seifert earlier in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having two large extensions budgeted in the salary cap is a smart move, but the fifth-year option for Addison does change things. Let\u2019s go into where things sit.<\/p>\n

Vikings salary cap situation moving forward<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at how the salary cap situation impacts the Vikings over the next few years.<\/p>\n

The Vikings have $4.8 million in space until post-June 1st. At that time, they will get $12.5 million in space. That money will help the Vikings maneuver throughout the 2026 season with in-season signings, the draft class, and practice squad. Keep in mind that they will lose around $2 million in salary cap space when final cuts come around, as they only count the top-51 until then. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where things get really interesting for the Vikings. Next season, the Vikings currently have only 30 total players under contract. Per Over The Cap<\/a>, the Vikings are projected to have $49.4 million in salary cap space. They are likely to receive around $5 million in salary cap space with four veteran contracts set to void. Plus, there will be $12 million coming back to the Vikings in salary cap credits with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave getting big contracts<\/a> in free agency.<\/p>\n

When you add the $12 million and then subtract approximately $23 million to account for minimum contracts to get up to the 53-man limit, the Vikings will have around $38 million in cap space before any extensions come into play.<\/p>\n

There is still a lot of maneuverability with the salary cap, especially with potential extensions. However, this is why the NFL Draft will be so important moving forward. The lack of players on rookie contracts is a problem for the Vikings. They have nine picks in April, and have more than two players make it to the final year of their rookie deal, like in both the 2022 (Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor) and 2023 (Jordan Addison, Jay Ward), which will be a huge benefit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be huge for the Vikings to nail the NFL Draft this year solely to impact the salary cap future of the franchise.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Nov\t\t<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings News<\/p>\n

With the Minnesota Vikings having salary cap issues, they made the smart decision regarding the future of wide receiver Jordan Addison and his fifth-year option.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Jan\t\t<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings News<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t always fix every position in the NFL Draft, because there aren\u2019t always the right players available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After picking up wide receiver Jordan Addison\u2019s fifth-year option this week, the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 salary cap situation is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,7238,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-849232","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-salary-cap","14":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116335205563777844","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849232","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=849232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}