Dalvin Cook’s new deal with the New York Jets appears to be good news for the Minnesota Vikings because it could shave some money off the dead cap hit the Vikings are set to eat in 2024.
Cook had a $2 million injury guarantee click in on March 17, though the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reported on June 9, two days after Cook was released, that the Vikings “could recoup all or part of Cook’s $2M 2023 guarantee because of offset language in his contract.”
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert said Monday that Cook’s deal with the Jets “presumably will relieve” the Vikings of the $2 million hit.
Vikings had an offset on the $2mm they owed Cook, which this deal presumably will relieve. https://t.co/tgoXepkx43
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) August 14, 2023
The presumption appears to be that the Vikings will be awarded a $2 million cap credit in 2024, which would knock down Cook’s dead cap hit from $3.1 million to $1.1 million next year. That said, OverTheCap still lists Cook’s 2024 dead cap hit at $3.1 million. Spotrac is the same.
Lesson learned? There are a lot of assumptions being made, but at this point – and based on Goessling’s wording from his June 9 tweet – it appears the Vikings will be awarded some sort of cap credit next year.
Cook signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Jets on Monday. Incentives could increase his 2023 earnings to $8.6 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
