03-16-2018, 12:53 AM
There’s a good chance the Minnesota Vikings aren’t very popular with the other 31 National Football League franchises right about now. Not after they became the first club in league history to dole out a multi-year, fully guaranteed contract to a quarterback.The three-year, $84 million deal that Kirk Cousins signed on Thursday — a figure that makes Cousins the highest-paid player in NFL history — almost certainly represents a shift in what quarterback contracts are going to look like going forward.
The Falcons want to retain Matt Ryan beyond the 2018 season? That will be no problem as long as Atlanta owner Arthur Blank makes sure every cent of Ryan’s deal is guaranteed. The Packers want to keep Aaron Rodgers after 2019? Same thing, every last dollar will have to be guaranteed. And we aren’t talking $84 million but something far closer to $100 million.
So how will Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf sleep tonight knowing the Cousins contract will be considered a major step forward for players? The guess here is just fine.
The decision to give Cousins so much in real cash might have been a blow to the other owners, but for the Vikings it was deemed to be a necessary step for a franchise that is still looking for its first Super Bowl win since entering the NFL in 1961 and has a six-game losing streak in NFC championship games.
The Wilfs, who bought the Vikings in 2005, have been around for only two of those defeats, 2009 and 2017, but they have grown tired of watching other teams celebrate Super Bowl championships. This includes the Philadelphia Eagles, who not only beat the Vikings in the NFC title game in January but then came to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in February and celebrated their Super Bowl title on the Vikings’ home field...
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...s-concern/
The Falcons want to retain Matt Ryan beyond the 2018 season? That will be no problem as long as Atlanta owner Arthur Blank makes sure every cent of Ryan’s deal is guaranteed. The Packers want to keep Aaron Rodgers after 2019? Same thing, every last dollar will have to be guaranteed. And we aren’t talking $84 million but something far closer to $100 million.
So how will Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf sleep tonight knowing the Cousins contract will be considered a major step forward for players? The guess here is just fine.
The decision to give Cousins so much in real cash might have been a blow to the other owners, but for the Vikings it was deemed to be a necessary step for a franchise that is still looking for its first Super Bowl win since entering the NFL in 1961 and has a six-game losing streak in NFC championship games.
The Wilfs, who bought the Vikings in 2005, have been around for only two of those defeats, 2009 and 2017, but they have grown tired of watching other teams celebrate Super Bowl championships. This includes the Philadelphia Eagles, who not only beat the Vikings in the NFC title game in January but then came to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in February and celebrated their Super Bowl title on the Vikings’ home field...
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...s-concern/