Kwesi Adofo-Mensah continues to set a precedent this offseason by dishing out void years to Vikings players.
Byron Murphy, Marcus Davenport, Dean Lowry and Josh Oliver all have had void years added to the deals they signed this month. Kirk Cousins also restructured his deal to include two void years, including a $28.5 million dead cap hit in 2024 if he’s not on the team.
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Why push so much money into the future?
“Without making a major move, the Vikings didn’t have much choice but to kick money down the road with their new free agent signees,” says Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller. “It’s a strategy the Vikings have regularly deployed but it comes with the significant drawback of having to pay out the void years in dead cap space in the future. Even a small amount of dead space can add up. This year, for example, the Vikings will pay Dalvin Tomlinson $7.5 million on the cap to play for the Browns.”
The Vikings entered the offseason over the salary cap but became cap compliant in part by adding void years, restructuring contracts (Cousins, Harrison Smith) and cutting the likes of Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks.
The Vikings added two void years to the end of Josh Oliver’s three-year deal. Murphy and Lowry had three void years added to their contracts and Davenport has a whopping four void years attached to his deal, according to Over The Cap.
“These decisions certainly make you wonder if the team is in run-it-back mode or if they’re buying themselves time to trade Za’Darius Smith or Dalvin Cook,” Coller wondered.
According to Spotrac, the Vikings have about $27 million in dead cap hits this season. That includes $13.5 million for Thielen, $7.5 million for Tomlinson and $1.9 million for Kendricks. Minnesota had dead cap hits of $28 million in 2022, $25.5 million in 2021, and $36.9 million in 2020
On Wednesday, the Vikings signed linebacker Troy Reeder and wide receiver/returner Brandon Powell, in addition to inking a contract extension with fullback CJ Ham.
