Playing on a one-year contract in the NFL is a risky proposition for players because contracts aren’t fully guaranteed and injuries can squash the amount of money a healthy player could otherwise make.
That’s the situation staring two young Vikings stars in the face: wide receiver Stefon Diggs and linebacker Anthony Barr, both of whom are entering the final year of their rookie deals with the Vikings.
One would think that both players would prefer to sign an extension before stepping on the field at training camp on Saturday, but the play-by-play voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen, doesn’t think that’s going to happen.
“I don’t think either will be signed by the time we start the season,” Allen said in an interview with KWSN Radio in Sioux Falls. “Now, I may be wrong with that, but I think the players think it behooves them to sit back, play the season, and wait.”
If Allen is correct, it would certainly be an outside-the-box approach by both players simply because an injury during the season could cost them a ton of money. But if both continue to improve and stay healthy, contracts after the season as opposed to now might be a lot richer. It’s a big risk, big reward scenario.
Meanwhile, Diggs, no stranger to cryptic tweets, sent one out Wednesday night that has his followers wondering if it has anything to do with his contract situation.
The later it gets the more thoughts I have….
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) July 26, 2018
Barr, however, is on record saying he’d like to get a contract offer from the Vikings.
“I want to be there long term. I’ve felt I’ve worked really hard, improved from my first day there to where I am now. I think I’m a totally different football player,” Barr told NFL.com in June.
“It’s not really up to me. I feel like all the work I’ve done so far, you’ve got to go off that. You can’t really go off what-ifs or this or that. Let the chips fall where they may. It’s not my decision; it’s on them, and I would like to get it.”
If one or both play out the season without a long-term extension, the Vikings won’t necessarily risk losing them as free agents. They could slap the franchise tag on either one and force them to play out another one-year deal in 2019.
