LaDainian Tomlinson was lured away from the Vikings with a baby basket

The Minnesota Vikings actually had a chance to land the Hall of Fame running back as a free-agent during the 2010 offseason.

During the NFL offseason, the free agency period is one of the most intriguing aspects of everything that goes on. Players land in new places and teams are given new hope and excitement about the upcoming season.

Back in the 2010 offseason, the Minnesota Vikings actually had the opportunity to add a future Hall of Famer to their roster in running back LaDainian Tomlinson. After the least-productive season of his career in 2009 with the San Diego Chargers, Tomlinson was released by the team in 2010 and became a free-agent.

The running back drew interest from a number of teams, but his choice came down to two franchises, the Vikings and the New York Jets. Tomlinson eventually decided to join the Jets and he recently explained why.

"“For me, it came down to the Jets and the Vikings. In fact, the Vikings were offering more money. They had more money on the table. Minnesota Vikings The Viking Age 0d - 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history More headlines around FanSided: 1d - Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North 1d - Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take 1d - 6 Vikings who (maybe) won't make the 53-man roster in 2023 2d - Which teams could be drafting a quarterback next year? 2d - Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022 More News at The Viking Age I remember I went to Minnesota first, I was supposed to go right to the Jets afterwards, and it was hard to get out of the building for the Vikings. They did not want to let me out of the building.But at the end of the day, the Jets had a real nice baby basket that they prepared. My wife was pregnant at the time and of course you know the wife makes the decisions. She saw that basket and she was like, ‘Aww we’re going to the Jets. Look, they care about the baby,’ and it was over (after that).”"

Probably not the reasoning behind his decision that most would have guessed. But the tactic obviously worked, so props to New York for that.

It ended up working out for the Jets also since Tomlinson played a significant role for a New York team that made it all the way to the AFC Championship in 2010. That season ended up being the last time the running back was a part of a team that made it into the playoffs.

Next: 5 players on the Vikings' free-agent wish list

To think, all Minnesota had to do to get Tomlinson to join their offensive backfield with Adrian Peterson was include a baby basket in their negotiations. Oh what could have been.